Malaysian mobile network operator (MNO) Celcom Axiata has carried out what is claimed to be Malaysia’s first 5G trial, and the first 5G trial conducted using 28GHz spectrum in Southeast Asia, working in partnership with Ericsson. In a press release outlining the development, the Swedish vendor noted that the trial featured 5G Radio Prototypes, achieving a peak throughput up to 18Gbps and latency as low as 3ms. Further, the test was also said to have demonstrated futuristic 5G use cases, such as robotic control, connected environment, virtual reality, Internet of Things (IoT) applications and 4K video streaming. The trial forms part of a 5G memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Celcom and Ericsson in Barcelona in February 2017, which paved the way ‘for a joint partnership to evaluate opportunities for 5G and IoT in Malaysia’.
Looking ahead, Celcom’s recently announced ‘journey to 5G will involve the deployment of key technologies such as 4×4 multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) and 256 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) to provide users with data speeds up to 400Mbps. The cellco also plans to deploy IoT to enable digital and connected living ‘in the near future’.
Speaking on the company’s strategy, Celcom CEO Michael Kuehner was cited as saying: ‘Celcom is committed to developing and continuing the evolution of its network with the latest technologies, to bring the best digital experience for Malaysians. 5G is very important to Celcom as it will support the development and meet the communication needs of consumers and digitisation of various industries. It is critical that we explore this new generation technology and its capabilities with global partners like Ericsson.’
