Malaysian telco CelcomDigi and Ericsson announced on Monday they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement AI-powered network analytics in CelcomDigi’s network to optimise its operations as 5G adoption in Malaysia continues to grow.
Under the terms of the deal, CelcomDigi and Ericsson said they will jointly develop intent-driven autonomous networks that leverage AI and automation to enhance network efficiency and optimise performance.
The two companies will also explore ways to leverage AI to create 5G service assurance solutions that can deliver better and differentiated connectivity services for enterprises and consumers.
As part of the collaboration, CelcomDigi will make use of Ericsson’s AI Intent-Based Operations (IBO) solution to accelerate the pace of developing autonomous network operations.
CelcomDigi CEO Idham Nawawi said that integrating AI and automation into its network operations would not only support the telco’s ongoing network integration and modernisation efforts, but also help it it deal with increasing network complexity as 5G adoption in Malaysia grows and use cases become more diverse.
“Malaysia’s 5G adoption is accelerating, and thus it is critical that we evolve our network capabilities to manage increasing complexity while delivering a superior customer experience,” he said in a joint statement. “As an extension of our ongoing partnership with Ericsson, we are taking steps towards intent-based autonomous networks, harnessing AI and automation to transform how networks operate, optimise performance, and improve sustainability.”
According to Ericsson, Malaysia registered 18.2 million 5G subscriptions as of the end of 2024, which works out to a market penetration rate of 53.4%.
The MoU with Ericsson is the latest of several such deals that CelcomDigi has signed in recent months to incorporate more AI into its network operations.
At last month’s Mobile World Congress, CelcomDigi and Huawei Malaysia signed an MoU to build an “AI-powered fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) network” that includes AI-driven automation and network optimisation.
Meanwhile, CelcomDigi also signed an MoU with ZTE to collaborate to integrating AI technologies into its telecoms network infrastructure, as well as explore AI-driven solutions such as “new calling” (phone calls with AI-powered interactive, intelligent voice and video interactions), intelligent deep packet inspection (DPI) for smarter network traffic management, and intelligent O&M to automate network monitoring and maintenance with AI-powered predictive analytics.
CelcomDigi has spent the past year exploring ways to leverage AI via its AI Experience Centre (AiX), which was launched in July 2024 to enable cross-industry collaboration for emerging technologies including 5G, AI, robotics and the metaverse. Forty companies are participating in the AiX ecosystem, including Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE.
