Malaysian operator Maxis and Huawei announced in Thursday that they have successfully staged what they claim is the first 5G-Advanced technology trial in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
The 5G-Advanced trial was showcased at a live demo at KLCC The Place in Kuala Lumpur. The demo included a live speed test to demonstrate 5G-Advanced’s capabilities to achieve peak downlink data speeds of up to 8 Gbps.
Demonstration booths at the event featured interactive applications of the technology, including low latency live streaming of various Kuala Lumpur city centre views, live 3D content, and immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences.
Maxis and Huawei will also showcase the 5G Advanced trial as part of the Malaysia Pavilion at next week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
5G-Advanced is being standardised under the 3GPP as Release 18. Key features of Release 18 (apart from faster data speeds) include enhanced uplink coverage, intelligent network automation (including AI/ML RAN), flexible spectrum, improved energy efficiency, support for critical IoT use cases (including RedCap), and integration with non-terrestrial networks.
The 3GPP is scheduled to freeze work on Release 18 next month.
“The potential of this technology is immense as it can power intelligent solutions across industries and economies,” said Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng. “We look forward to exploring this technology and developing solutions that will benefit industries and enterprises, and advance our nation’s digital ambition.”
Also at the 5G Advanced showcase, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that Malaysia had just over 10 million 5G subscriptions as of January 31, which works out to a market penetration rate of 29.9%.
Currently, Maxis and other Malaysian operators offer 5G services via Digital Nasional Berhad, the country’s sole 5G wholesale network operator. The government is making plans to licence a second 5G wholesale network operator later this year.
