Malaysian telco CelcomDigi on Friday said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with satellite operator SES to find ways to use SES’s medium-earth-orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous satellites to connect businesses and communities in Malaysia.
Under the MoU, which was inked at last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, SES and CelcomDigi will form a strategic partnership to explore harnessing SES’s satellites with CelcomDigi's infrastructure, such as the site operated by Celcom Timur, to provide enterprise-grade satellite connectivity services with high throughput, low latency, and committed SLAs.
CelcomDigi’s subsidiaries will collaborate with SES to explore the development of a local gateway for satellite communication services in Malaysia. Meanwhile, CelcomDigi will look at how connectivity services such as 4G, 5G, SD-WAN and managed Wi-Fi can be delivered through SES’s satellite networks.
SES’ global constellation of 70 satellites includes its O3b network of 26 MEO broadband satellites, which orbit 8,000 km above Earth. The relatively lower orbit enables O3b to offer satellite broadband connectivity at lower latencies than GEO satellites.
“Our collaboration with SES, beginning with our infrastructure in Malaysia, opens many possibilities in enhancing our 4G LTE and 5G connectivity services for businesses and communities, enabling more Malaysians with digital opportunities in today’s digital economy,” said CelcomDigi CEO Datuk Idham Nawawi.
Nadine Allen, global head of Enterprise & Cloud at SES, said: “In this digital era, connectivity is of upmost importance, and we will work closely together to connect enterprises and communities in the most remote parts of Malaysia.”
