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The Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI) has launched the national testbed for 5G innovation at MRANTI Park in Bukit Jalil.

In addition to being 5G-ready, MRANTI Park offers full-fledged infrastructure, facilities and services to support the commercialisation of new 5G technologies across the innovation development lifecycle. This includes access to cutting-edge equipment, high-speed computing facilities and resources, as well access to and support from industry experts. Plans are underway to develop a 12-kilometre autonomous vehicle living lab in the vicinity, in addition to a 5-acre drone centre of excellence to advance the development of Industry 4.0 solutions.

Raising Malaysia’s Competitiveness

YB Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, said that MRANTI will be the nucleus for the development and deployment of wide-ranging transformative societal and sectoral applications using next-generation technology.

“The launch of MRANTI 5G Experience Centre is a significant milestone to fast[1]track new innovations that will improve the way we live, work and play in a more enriching data-driven future. Designed for prototyping, testing and development, the MRANTI 5G Experience Centre will complement a growing number of 5G innovation facilities in Malaysia,” said YB Chang.

According to industry research, the deployment of 5G is expected to provide a potential GDP uplift of some RM122 billion and 750,000 new jobs by the year 2030.

YB Chang called for more early adopters to propel the growth of Industry 4.0 solutions, with the use of 5G technologies. In lending the government’s full support in various aspects. While the country’s 5G network is expected to attain an 80% coverage by the end of 2023, a recent report by GSMA Intelligence revealed that Malaysia currently has a 1% adoption rate of 5G despite achieving close to 50% 5G population coverage. Industry observers have alluded that a key indicator for the success of 5G must include enterprise innovation and use cases that provide compelling applications to intensify industry adoption.

Showing Proofs of Concept

The MRANTI 5G Experience Centre is the first government-led 5G centre that offers a prototyping, test, demo and lab area with speeds up to 1GBps, for industry applications and use cases by vertical sectors to be showcased. At the launch, the Minister also announced five (5) proof-of-concepts (POC) involving network operators, IoT solution providers and technology developers. These POCs include solutions for healthcare, agriculture, smart city development, drone technology, surveillance and more to benefit B40 communities as well as industry.

With higher throughput, ultra-low latency, 5G can offer speeds up to 50 times faster, 10 times more responsiveness and much lower power connectivity than 4G3. With this, the development time and cycle for innovators of 5G use cases is expected to greatly improve.

“We recognise that having proof of concepts is one of the steps in winning over enterprise confidence for 5G adoption and the national testbed propels this, and we aim to funnel as many of these along to be commercialised,” said Dzuleira Abu Bakar, Chief Executive Officer at MRANTI.

She added: “I would like to welcome innovators, infrastructure service providers, telcos and enterprises looking to partner on programmes, collaborate to develop a 5G Proof[1]of-Concept, test or showcase a 5G solution, or learn about applied 5G to connect with us at MRANTI. MRANTI is equipped to enable and equip innovators and we also welcome discussions with investors at MRANTI Park.”

Advancing Multi-Sector Collaboration for Industry Confidence

According to the 2022 EY Reimagining Industry Futures study, only 24% of enterprises are truly confident that their organisation can successfully implement 5G. In this, many are said to be looking for transformation partners, not just technology suppliers —with up to 75% citing that ecosystem strategies as central to their five-year growth outlook.

MRANTI also announced its collaboration with the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA). The initiative will open up market access for Malaysian innovators to potentially collaborate with more than 1,000 mobile ecosystem players worldwide to advance locally designed and produced innovation.

In an effort to develop a strong ecosystem for businesses in Malaysia, Maxis and MRANTI will collaborate to build on a unique opportunity to accelerate 5G innovation and commercialisation. This proposed strategic collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both parties, including the Maxis 5G Alliance to foster a thriving ecosystem where different stakeholders can come together to promote innovation aimed at unleashing new 5G-powered solutions and services in the B2B sector. More details on this collaboration will be announced soon.

In April, MRANTI connected key stakeholders—including telcos, government, corporate innovators, technical experts, academia and civil society to discuss pertinent issues including regulatory support for 5G solutions to be prototyped in a live environment.

Various enterprise 5G knowledge sessions and workshops for industry innovation will be rolled out for innovators, researchers, universities and industry in efforts to build a talent pipeline to support the growth of advanced technologies.

Infrastructure service providers, telcos and enterprises looking to partner on programmes, develop a 5G Proof-of-Concept, test a 5G solution, or learn about applied 5G are welcome to connect with MRANTI and book a slot for a site visit https://mranti.my/mranti-park/facilities/living-lab/5g-booking.

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