With 5G there is a plethora of possibilities in delivering faster, more reliable, and lower latency connectivity than earlier generations. From building smart cities to providing better healthcare monitoring solutions and smart fully automated factories. It is set to revolutionise our everyday experiences and open up a future of unparalleled possibilities.

The advent of Malaysian 5G is brimming with exciting opportunities within consumer, industry, and government applications. It will indeed be a powerful boost to Malaysia's digital economy goals given its power to shape the technological trajectory of the country's economic development and provide the next platform for entrepreneurs to innovate.

Malaysiakini, KiniEvents and Top In Tech have teamed up once again to bring you Episode 22 of the Top In Tech webinar series titled 5G: What is Possible Today. This episode was hosted by Karamjit Singh and guest panellists Prem Kumar, Head of Enterprise Strategy, Digital Nasional Berhad, Roni Shah Mustapha, Head of Business, City & Communications Division, Cyberview and Timur Umetayev, Partner, McKinsey & Company contributing to the discussion on the immediate benefits early adopters in the country can expect.

How will the rakyat transform in the foreseeable future?

Prem noted that the convergence of 5G with the industrial sector will fuel business growth, catalyse economic recovery and transform Malaysia into a greater investment hub in boosting the country’s economy.

Malaysia’s first 5G lab gives innovators full access to 5G technology

According to Roni, Cyberview and Digi had partnered together to launch the 5G OpenLab in September 2019 up till December 2021. They had 6 programmes with a total of 27 use cases that were tested out within the open lab. The 5G OpenLab was introduced to inspire innovators, in the spirit of collaboration, to learn, share and synergise to build the next-generation of solutions for Malaysia.

“Examples of projects that were tested out in the Lab was a smart parking system that streams clear quality video data within the 5G environment and AI facilities from Multimedia University. We also have worked with an SME in Malaysia that focused on IoT flood monitoring utilising 5G’s super high-speed and massive bandwidth. On top of that, we also had a project with CREST (Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology) in which they worked on digital healthcare use cases related to Emergency Medical Services, remote surgery, remote monitoring for Smart Hospitals and 5G connected ambulances,” he said.

Adopting 5G in Malaysia

Timur pointed out that if we compare Malaysia to other countries such as China, South Korea or even the US, we will notice that based on some indicators, we are a little behind in adopting 5G. However, at the end of the day, the most important factor is that Malaysia is adopting 5G to capture real economic benefits. 5G rollout must follow the country’s ability to monetise it, or, in other words, is intrinsically demand-driven!

How many citizens or business entities can readily take on 5G as it becomes available? In which areas? What are the values could it provide in the long term? These are crucial inputs to claim the efficiency of the “supply-driven” 5G rollout.

Accelerating a digital future for Malaysia

Prem explained that Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) was established in 2021 to deliver the following key outcomes in line with the goals of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL). One of the goals is to realise the potential of 5G in Malaysia to spur economic activity.

The rollout of the 5G network kicked off with the provision of 5G coverage in the Malaysian capital in December 2021, and it will further deploy across the country in the next three years.

“We want to be a creator of technology rather than an adopter. Therefore, we want to build an innovation hub where we will work closely with agencies such as Cyberview, MRANTI, MDEC, academias and many more, to transform a tech-savvy generation,” Prem said.

Key Takeaways

“Cyberview is ready to assist, we have the technology system and the network to help companies out there take advantage of the 5G network. Let’s create a world-class future for Malaysia,” Roni concluded.

“With 5G technology, we can help create a smarter, safer and more sustainable future, so connect with companies that offer these solutions and grow your business,” Timur concluded.

“DNB is committed to accelerate the deployment of 5G to uplift businesses and transform our everyday experiences,” Prem concluded.

Watch the replay of Top In Tech Episode 22 - 5G: What is Possible Today here.