Maxis, a Malaysia-based telecommunication firm, and Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei Malaysia), a subsidiary of Chinese multinational digital communications technology conglomerate Huawei, have on Tuesday announced a strategic collaboration on a Joint Innovation Center in Malaysia.

Maxis said in a statement that the center focused on the development of 5G-Advanced technology to explore and develop innovative solutions to improve customer experience, operating efficiencies, rapid deployment, industry use cases, and develop homegrown talent for industrial and entrepreneurship activities.

Overall, the partnership aims to drive technological advancements and strengthen Malaysia’s position in the global telecommunications landscape.

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

Additionally, Maxis and Huawei Malaysia will also explore the usage of digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to optimize network operating efficiencies.

“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 Goh Seow Eng, Chief Executive Officer of Maxis.

“With this latest collaboration we want to take full advantage of 5G-Advanced by building up human capital alongside commercialized 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,” he added.

Simon Sun, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Malaysia, said they are confident that this collaboration will assist in accelerating the nation’s digital transformation agenda and firmly place Malaysia as 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,

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

According to the statement, 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 programs, and research and development projects, the collaboration aims to ensure that Malaysian talent is equipped with the skills needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving telecommunications and technology sector.

At the MCY Summit 2024, Maxis also showcased several 5G-Advanced applications and their real-world impact, including for education with remote classroom teaching, for healthcare with remote diagnosis and rescue, and for manufacturing with autonomous smart sorting and assembly.

It is noted that Maxis and Huawei Malaysia have a longstanding history of collaboration in advancing the adoption of mobile network technologies.

Following their achievement of staging the first 5G-Advanced technology trial showcase in Southeast Asia in February, both companies have continued to demonstrate the immense potential of 5G-Advanced technology for the economy.

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