A total of RM50m have been contributed by the private sector for the testbeds in 5 states, says minister

by FARA AISYAH/ pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE 5G network service will soon be a reality in Malaysia by the first half of next year (1H20), depending on the testbed demonstrations in five states — Selangor, Perak, Terengganu, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Kedah.

According to Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo (picture), a total of RM50 million have been contributed by the private sector for the testbeds in these states.

“A total of 66 5G use cases have been identified, initiated by both the government and private sector, culminating in a total industry investment of RM50 million,” Gobind said at the presentation of the National 5G Task Force Mid-term Report in Cyberjaya recently.

“Some examples of the use cases include smart city applications which are smart parking, security and traffic lights management, virtual reality (VR) for education, smart factory or manufacturing and precision farming — smart fertigation (injection of fertilisers into an irrigation system),” he added.

The 5G demonstrations were initially tested in the areas of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, and are now expanding to the five states.

Gobind said the 5G demonstrations will be expanded to the other states depending on both their demand and the industries’.

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak said the regulatory body did not invest in the latest 5G demonstrations.

“There is no investment from MCMC. It is a suggestion from the industry and other sector players, for them to run the use case demonstrations; technical and commercial trials. So, it is an investment from the private sector,” he said.

When asked about the government’s investment on the planned 5G implementation, Al-Ishsal said, “That is another level (of discussion).”

“The RM50 million is limited for the 5G demonstrations for the 66 use cases,” he explained.

The task force estimated 38 use cases to be demonstrated in the fourth quarter of this year. The 113-member task force is also estimated to have 20 Live 5G sites in the quarter.

For the agricultural sector, 5G will be used in smart fertigation and precision farming, as well as smart distribution in Selangor and Kedah.

For the digital healthcare segment in the two states, 5G will be utilised in remote diagnosis and consultation.

5G will be demonstrated for immersive lessons with augmented reality and VR, as well as a virtual maker space for the education sector in Selangor, KL and Kedah.

It will also be used in the immersive gaming for the entertainment/media sector in the three states.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing and process industries in Perak will be using 5G demonstrations for intelligent surveillance and asset tracking.

Smart cities in Selangor, KL and Kedah will also be utilising 5G for fixed wireless access, connected mobility, smart safety and security, smart traffic and street lights and smart parking.

For the smart transport segment, 5G will be used for autonomous and connected vehicles in Kedah and Selangor. In Kedah, 5G will be demonstrated for virtual and augmented tourism.

For the oil and gas sector in Terengganu, 5G will be tested for the plant performance and efficiency, remote platform, monitoring, and health and safety environment.