Malaysian operator U Mobile delivered average 5G download speeds of 597Mb/s in a trial on the 13.5km-long Penang Bridge using Huawei equipment, as the operator prepares to launch the country’s second 5G network.
U Mobile stated in a press release that the Penang Bridge, one of the world’s longest sea-crossing bridges, posed connectivity challenges. The company addressed this using Huawei’s Meta active antenna units, which employ extremely large antenna arrays and beamforming algorithms to double the number of antenna elements, enhance coverage, and improve customer experience by 30%.
Base stations are positioned at either end of the bridge, removing the need for a base station in the middle.
The trial also demonstrated minimum speeds of 120Mb/s and zero dropped calls, even in vehicles travelling at 80km/h.
“With 5G-Advanced, we will be able to provide future enterprise use cases along the bridge, such as road safety services, surveillance with AI capabilities, and drones for emergency situations,” said Woon Ooi Yuen, CTO of U Mobile.
“This achievement reinforces our strong partnership with U Mobile and our shared commitment to fast-tracking Malaysia’s digital transformation, enabling operators like U Mobile to drive the development of advanced telecom services,” said Zac Chow, Vice President of Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei Malaysia) Carrier Network Business Group.
Digital Nasional Berhad, the special purpiose company managing Malaysia's first 5G network, made its own 5G-Advanced announcement by partnering with Ericsson.