Maxis partners Huawei to push forward Malaysia's global digital ambitions

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Telco Maxis and tech brand Huawei have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The partnership aims to drive technological advancements and strengthen Malaysia's position in the global telecommunications landscape.

In addition, the partnership will see the establishment of a 5G-advanced technology focused joint innovation centre.

The centre aims to explore and develop innovative solutions to improve customer experience, operating efficiencies, rapid development, industry use cases as well as to develop homegrown talent for industrial and entrepreneurship activities.

Don't miss: What does Malaysia need to do to establish itself as the tech hub of Asia?

The partnership was formalised during the opening ceremony of the Malaysia Commercialisation Year Summit 2024 and was witnessed by Malaysia prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and minister of science, technology and innovation, Chang Lih Kang.

Under the strategic collaboration, Maxis and Huawei will explore innovations in gigabit capacity to support mobile network expansion and 5G/5G-advanced technologies such as mobile edge computing, network slicing, end-to-end network orchestration, RedCap and Passive IoT.

“Earlier this year in February we were the first to showcase 5G-advanced for the public not only for the nation but also region. The continued collaboration with Huawei is one of the many ways we are supporting Malaysia’s digital ambitions," said Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng.

"With this latest collaboration, we want to take full advantage of 5G-advanced by building up human capital alongside commercialised innovation for enterprises and industries. As the country’s leading integrated telco, we look forward to the next evolution of connectivity and the economic benefits it will bring to our country," added Goh.

The two companies will also explore the usage of digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to optimise network operating efficiencies.

Furthermore, the collaboration will focus on nurturing homegrown talent in Malaysia, with an emphasis on university students and the local workforce. Through these academia-industry engagements, training programmes, and R&D projects, the collaboration aims to ensure that Malaysian talent are equipped with the skills needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving telecommunications and technology sector.

“We are confident that this collaboration will assist in accelerating the nation’s digital transformation agenda and firmly place Malaysia in the ASEAN technology capital. This is the next step after our first smart island proof of concept powered by 5.5G/5G advanced in ASEAN which took place in Labuan," said Huawei CEO Simon Sun.

"Together, we are nurturing innovation and pushing boundaries to ensure Malaysia becomes the regional hub of cutting-edge technologies," added Sun.

This comes after Maxis invested RM813 million in the financial year of 2023 to enhance its mobile network capacity, grow its fibre-to-the-premise footprint and improve digitalisation across the group.

Maxis'CEO Goh said in April 2024 that the group has always prioritised customer experiences. This is because it is a "key differentiator" in a "hyper-competitive market".

"Looking ahead to 2024, I am highly confident that Maxis will strengthen its position as Malaysia’s leading integrated telco. We will focus on growing our core businesses— mobile, fibre, and enterprise—while delivering operating excellence," added Goh.

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