Malaysian telco Maxis says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China Mobile International (CMI) to collaborate on exploring and developing private 5G applications and solutions for enterprises.
Under the terms of the MoU – signed at last week’s China Mobile Southeast Asia Cooperation Conference in Bangkok and revealed on Friday – Maxis and CMI will work on key initiatives such as development of private 5G networks, 5G consultation and applications, smart park solutions, advancements in AI, and joint research and development projects.
Maxis and CMI will also focus on sharing technical expertise and exploring new market opportunities.
Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng said in a statement that the partnership leverages CMI’s extensive international presence and information services alongside Maxis' own experience in fixed-mobile infrastructure and digital solutions as well as its local enterprise customer base.
“By tapping into our combined core competencies and technical expertise, we aim to develop market fit 5G solutions that demonstrate a deep understanding of the needs of enterprises and industries and the potential of 5G to drive growth and efficiency in Malaysia and beyond,” he said.
The Malaysian government has been working to promote development of private 5G for industrial use cases in sectors such as health, manufacturing, agriculture and aquaculture as it makes plans to roll out the country’s second 5G network.
CMI's parent company China Mobile boasts a fairly sizable private 5G business in its home market. In its 2024 interim report issued earlier this month, China Mobile said its private 5G network revenue reached CNY3.9 billion (US$545.3 miliion) in the first half of 2024 – a year-on-year increase of 53.7% – driven by over 40,000 5G industry commercial cases involving smart cities, smart factories, smart parks and smart campuses.
China Mobile also said that its consumer mobile subscriber base topped 1 billion for the same period, 51.4% (514 million) of which are 5G subscribers.
