Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by: Khairul Haqeem, Journalist, AOPG.

The responsibility of innovation lies in its goal of enhancing human well-being, and with this ability comes immense responsibility. It was not until 2019 that 5G was made commercially available for most parts of the world.

Huawei recently hosted the media for a Media High Tea and Tour at its Customer Solution Innovation Centre in Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. More than forty members of the press showed up to the event in the hopes of receiving the inside scoop on whatever Huawei has up its sleeve.

The 5G Infrastructure is Ready

The Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) presentation stood out to me among the various demonstrations of IoTs and 5G technologies I witnessed throughout the tour. As part of getting the country ready for 5G technology, the JENDELA programme was developed to improve the accessibility and quality of people’s 3G and 4G+ mobile internet experiences. And much of the infrastructure was supported by Huawei.

Opensignal observed that the availability of 4G networks in Malaysia is greater than ever before, presumably as part of an endeavour to bring 4G (and eventually 5G) services to more places. According to the statistics gathered over a 90-day period beginning on 1 August 2021 (compared to the same time in 2020), the percentage of people using 4G networks has grown by 2.8%. Here’s an initiative that succeeded at least in part.

Furthermore, Huawei debuted RuralStar Pro in Bera, Pahang, in July. RuralStar Pro is Huawei’s wireless technology that does not require “line-of-sight” connections, making it ideal for difficult terrains including deserts, hilly regions, and rural valleys. The IoT device was among the displayed during the tour.

The system, according to Huawei, has a very cheap setup cost due to its simplicity, with a node requiring less than seven days to build. Each location also has a low energy usage, using less than 120W and no more than five lightbulbs. This means that RuralStar Pro only needs two solar panels to power the whole system and provide communities with phone and internet connection. This project was one of the children of JENDELA’s initiative with Huawei and Celcom.

The Country is Not Ready

At the time of writing, we are nearing the conclusion of Q4. Unfortunately, Malaysia lags far behind in terms of digital connection, particularly in the 5G scenario. Big tech corporations like Huawei have substantially invested in 5G infrastructure, hoping that the top brass will set aside their disagreements and collaborate for the benefit of everybody.

The DNB deal with the Malaysian telecom giants has been finalised but until today, only the government-backed Yes supplies 5G, which accounts for a small fraction of Malaysian subscribers and, of course, coverage. The Digi-Celcom merger is still in its early stages, with no indications of U-Mobile’s involvement. And Maxis is only interested in entering the metaverse.

Not only does 5G improve accessibility, but it also improves the quality of digital life. For example, 5G extends the reach of mobile broadband significantly. Improves mission-critical services that influence the safety and security of today’s services, such as remote surgery, improved traffic control, and a variety of other applications and IoTs that rely on near-instantaneous reaction time.

This political folly harming the digital transformation of this should, in my honest view, end now. Any differences should be left at the door in order for this country to achieve a competitive advantage over its peers.

(0)(0)