A new IDC White Paper, “Building a 5G Foundation for Digital Malaysia”, commissioned by Ericsson, looks at the critical role of mobile 4G and 5G networks in accelerating the ‘JENDELA’ and MyDIGITAL initiatives. It also examines Malaysia’s 5G readiness compared to its regional peers and the potential impact of 5G on the consumer and enterprise segments and gives useful insight and recommendations.
Accelerating Industry 4.0
The White Paper says that the deployment of 5G in Malaysia will serve as an economic and innovation driver for Malaysia, enhancing the nation’s global and regional competitiveness, accelerate Industry 4.0 and enable new digital services in the consumer and enterprise spaces. By providing Malaysia with secure, robust connectivity and infrastructure, 5G also sets the foundation for future technological and business growth by delivering higher data speeds, ultra-low latency, greater reliability, massive network capacity and an enhanced consumer experience for users.
“Accelerate the digital transformation for Malaysian consumers and enterprises.”
David Hägerbro, Ericsson.
“The White Paper was commissioned as part of our 5G study on Malaysia to see how Malaysians, investors and industries could be empowered to reach their full potential with a network that is reliable, robust, energy efficient and secure. Ericsson now looks forward to working with Digital Nasional Berhad to deliver a world-class 5G network for Malaysia and accelerate the digital transformation for Malaysian consumers and enterprises,” says David Hägerbro, Head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Leveraging the capabilities of 5G
The White Paper say that to leverage the capabilities of 5G, mobile services providers, academia and the start-up ecosystem should work together to enable development of innovative applications and use cases for both consumers and industries.
It recommends that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) need to introduce innovative applications, work with and enable developers to create robust apps and use cases that take full advantage of the speed, latency and reliability offered by 5G to enable them to rapidly grow their customer base. To realise the full benefits of 5G in Malaysia, 5G Standalone network (SA) is also recommended as the ultimate architecture for 5G, with careful planning required to prepare for 5G SA for both network and device readiness.
5G subscriptions in Malaysia
According to IDC, the 2025 forecast on 5G handsets for Malaysia is 21.2%, since consumers have already started buying 5G devices in Malaysia, as they become more affordable, despite the non-availability of a 5G network in Malaysia. IDC projects that 5G handsets will make up 60.6% of total handset shipments to Malaysia in 2025, which in turn will enable a rapid take-up rate of 5G services.
Additionally, IDC forecasts that by 2025 there will be 12.7 million 5G connections or roughly 22.4% of total subscribers as well as 43.1 million 4G LTE subscriptions in Malaysia or 76.2% of total subscriptions. Indeed, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, 5G will contribute RM8.5 billion to Malaysia’s GDP in 2025.
“Reap the benefits arising from 5G.”
Hugh Ujhazy, IDC Vice President.
“5G will play a critical role in enabling the MyDIGITAL initiatives. Industries, including manufacturing, public sector, BFSI and retail will reap the benefits arising from 5G. Infrastructure investments over the last decade have built the backbone that 5G innovation will rely upon. The formation of Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will open the way for Malaysia’s wireless services to move to the next level, driving the convergence of fixed and wireless infrastructure. The next 3-5 years will be an important period for Malaysia to integrate 5G into daily life and business processes,” said IDC Vice President, IoT and Telecommunications, Hugh Ujhazy.
The White Paper is available here.
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