02 Nov 2020
MDEC and TM work together to deliver greater reach and impact to Malaysians in the digital economy
Both parties are collaborating on four (4) key areas of Digitally Empowered Businesses; Rural Digital Economy; Digitally Skilled Malaysians; and Digital Advocacy and Community Engagement.
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) today announced a collaboration in the joint effort to further strengthen the digital readiness of Malaysia, towards realising its Digital Nation aspirations.
The collaboration encompasses four (4) key areas namely, to digitally empower Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); to bolster rural digital economy; to empower Malaysians with digital skills; and to leverage on each other's strengths in running digital advocacy and community engagement programmes. More significantly, it brings the two national organisations, MDEC and TM, together moving in tandem towards delivering greater digital reach and economic impact for the shared prosperity of all Malaysians.
Under the MoU, TM and MDEC will work together in matching, introducing and connecting TM with MDEC's MSME ecosystem and established partners such as Perkhidmatan eDagang Setempat (PeDAS) programme, Pusat Internet Desa (PID) and Digital Xceleration (DX), as well as TM's MSME customers to offer products and solutions in TM's identified technology pillars towards further empowering the SME fraternity. This will pave the way towards producing business and technology savvy entrepreneurs, MSMEs who will then drive economic growth. Towards empowering the rural digital economy, both organisations will explore the initiatives to further expand connectivity infrastructure that in turn, can help enable mentoring and coaching to communities on how to increase the utilisation of emerging technology to improve business operations. Both parties will also look into organising training and workshops to enhance the digital skills and competencies of identified communities as well as TM employees, while at the same time building competent graduates to increase their employability. This includes promoting the awareness on 4th Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) related skills to teachers, students and youth to equip them for the digital era.
Commenting on the collaboration, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh, Chairman of TM said: "We are excited and thrilled to join hands with MDEC in this milestone effort. Both national organisations will explore common ground and embark on the best initiatives towards establishing a solid foundation for the country's Digital Economy and to elevate Malaysia into a Digital Nation. This is also in line with TM's aspirations and unique role as the enabler of Digital Malaysia."
"What TM will bring to the table are our comprehensive infrastructure as well as our capabilities to reach out to not only our wide customer base but to more Malaysians nationwide, through our various touchpoints and engagement platforms. As we continue to engage with the communities to increase their awareness on digital solutions and how it can help fulfill their needs; we are also working to provide the future digital workforce with the right skills for a digital business ecosystem. As the national connectivity and digital infrastructure provider, we have always and will continue to support the Government's aspirations in increasing connectivity reach to all," he added.
"MDEC's collaboration with TM will complement the 'Malaysia 5.0' as the new narrative for introducing emerging technologies that will focus on accelerating the growth of Malaysia's digital economy in three primary areas: empowering Malaysians with digital skills, enabling digitally-powered businesses, and driving digital investments. Predominantly, the MDEC-TM joint effort is crucial to the new 'Malaysia 5.0' digital economy which will enable greater access and connectivity that will allow the nation to realise the full potential that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) holds for the economy. This goes to show that we are determined to surge the digital economy agenda for the many and to firmly establish Malaysia as the heart of digital ASEAN," said Datuk Wira Dr. Hj. Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, Chairman of MDEC.
In addition, the collaboration will look at potential community engagements via digital platforms for the knowledge sharing of products and solutions from both parties to address the communities' needs.
With this MoU in place, MDEC and TM will leverage on each other's strengths and complement areas where each entity requires further support towards a higher purpose of realising a Digital Malaysia and the benefits that it will give to more Malaysians; ensuring that no one will be left behind in this digital era and IR4.0.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
U MOBILE TO LEVERAGE TM’S NATIONWIDE FIBRE NETWORK IN LATEST PARTNERSHIP; EXPEDITING ITS NEXT GEN 5G DEPLOYMENT
• U Mobile has appointed TM to provide leased fibre connectivity backhaul for its Next Gen 5G rollout nationwide • The appointment enables U Mobile to accelerate deployment by leveraging TM’s extensive fibre network and comprehensive 5G Mobile Backhaul Service KUALA LUMPUR, 26 May 2025 – U Mobile, Malaysia’s Next Gen 5G network provider, has announced the appointment of TM, the enabler of a Digital Malaysia, as its key fibre backhaul partner to accelerate the deployment of its 5G network nationwide. The partnership agreement, valued at RM2.4billion over 10 years was formalised today at a signing ceremony held at Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, witnessed by YB Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, Minister of Communications. Under this partnership, TM will provide U Mobile a comprehensive suite of backhaul infrastructure services, including fibre leased line access to U Mobile’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN), data centre and TM Edge Facility leasing for Points of Interconnect (POIs), as well as trunk leased line for inter-regional connectivity. With TM’s extensive nationwide fibre footprint—spanning over 740,000 km and representing the widest fibre backhaul coverage in Malaysia—U Mobile is poised to expedite the rollout of its Next Gen 5G network across the country. This strategic partnership will enable U Mobile to tap into TM’s comprehensive 5G Mobile Backhaul Service to ensure high network performance and reliable connectivity for both enterprises and consumers. “U Mobile is pleased to have TM as our fibre backhaul partner as their coverage is the widest in Malaysia, enabling us to further accelerate our 5G coverage deployment. Together with TM and other partners, we are committed to reaching 80% coverage of populated areas within 12 months, while ensuring a superior 5G experience that is highly reliable, supports massive capacity and delivers ultra-fast speeds to benefit enterprises and consumers across Malaysia,” said Wong Heang Tuck, CEO of U Mobile. “TM is proud to support U Mobile’s 5G network with high-capacity fibre backhaul — the essential backbone of a resilient and high-performance 5G ecosystem. This collaboration underscores our commitment to building inclusive, future-ready infrastructure that fuels innovation, enhances connectivity, and drives digital progress across the nation. This is central to TM’s role as the enabler of a Digital Malaysia — a cornerstone in our aspiration to become a Digital Powerhouse by 2030,” said Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group CEO. Through this collaboration, U Mobile and TM are reinforcing their commitment to accelerating Malaysia’s 5G connectivity, fostering digital innovation and empowering businesses and communities nationwide.
TM R&D Celebrates double win at the global TM Forum Excellence Awards 2020
In-house solutions SWIMS and IDEAS+ received global recognition for the Beyond Connectivity and A.I, Data & Analytics categories respectively Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), added another feather to its cap when they recently bagged not one, but two (2) awards at the prestigious TM Forum Excellence Awards 2020. The awards were conferred to TM R&D for its innovative solutions namely Smart Water Integrated Management System (SWIMS) under the Beyond Connectivity and Artificial Intelligence (A.I) category, while its Intelligent Network Diagnostic & Expert Advisory System for Service Desk (IDEAS+) solution received the recognition under Data & Analytics category. Since 2007, TM Forum Excellence Awards recognises the world's leading companies for their innovative achievements spanning digital transformation, business and IT agility, customer centricity, cultural transformation, cross-industry partnering and collaboration, and product and service innovation in AI, data analytics, autonomous networks and cloud native IT. All entries were assessed by a global panel of judges based on the extensive materials submitted. Each year, the judging panels are carefully selected from varied global organisations to ensure a balanced approach and a wholly impartial view. Commenting on the double wins, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, "This is certainly a welcomed surprise and a proud moment for us at TM R&D. We are excited that two of our very own internally-developed smart solutions, deployed in collaboration with Air Selangor and Group Customer Experience at TM have been recognised by global industry experts such as TM Forum. Both solutions are now commercially available domestically and to the global market. We believe TM R&D is on the right track to support TM's Digital Malaysia aspirations and simultaneously accelerate Malaysia to become a digital nation." SWIMS is an Internet of Water (IoW) solution, essentially doing for water what Internet of Things (IoT) does for various other industries and verticals. These include electric utilities, transportation, smart cities and factory automation, to enable in-depth, new insights into the operations and the right tools to act on those insights. "SWIMS offers end-to-end smart water management that improves non-revenue water management. It optimises the repair and replacement of ageing water infrastructure as well as improves response to weather events such as water level and quality. Based on feedback we received from Air Selangor, with SWIMS, water usage visibility improved by 3,000% and meter reading accuracy improved 10-15% through automation," shared Dr. Sharlene. The TM Forum Excellence Awards also recognises another solution from TM R&D, IDEAS+ which is a one-stop advisory platform deployed at TM's contact centre. Using machine-learning algorithm, IDEAS+ assists the call centre agents to efficiently troubleshoot and resolve various customer issues. The objectives of the project were to reduce Average Handling Time (AHT) at the contact centre when entertaining customer calls, reduce repeated truck roll, increase the accuracy of troubleshooting and escalation as well as to achieve cost-saving. IDEAS+ is an intelligent diagnostic and advisory system for TM contact centre agents to provide predictive guideline as well as troubleshooting steps with more than 95% accuracy. Established in 2001, TM R&D is the centre of innovation for TM Group focusing on innovations that enriches humanity and bring progress to nations. Growing from strength to strength since 2016, TM R&D has won 15 globally recognised awards and generated more than 2,800 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and 1,400 digital assets to-date. TM R&D's innovations all developed in-house cut across multiple verticals such as Utilities, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education with safety and productivity as the top priority. As TM R&D continues to expand beyond connectivity and into smarter digital ecosystems, its role in TM has become more prominent and exciting. For more information about TM R&D and its products and services, they can be contacted at business@tmrnd.com.my or log on to www.tmrnd.com.my or follow them on LinkedIn (TM Research & Development) for more news and updates.
TM’S NEW FIBRE OPTIC NETWORK HUB (POINT OF PRESENCE) BRINGS FASTER, MORE RELIABLE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has today announced the completion of its new fibre optic network hub or point of presence (PoP) project phase one (1) installations, across northern region, Sabah and Sarawak. The launch ceremony, which was officiated by YB Fahmi Fadzil, Minister of Communications and Digital, took place at SMK Padang Terap, Kuala Nerang, Kedah. Also present were Dato’ Haji Pkharuddin Bin Haji Ghazali, Director-General of Education and Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Bin Mentek, Secretary-General, Ministry of Communications and Digital. PoP is a place where different devices connect to each other and to the internet. In simple terms, PoP brings fibre closer to users. By setting up PoP locations near schools, people in rural and remote areas can get better and faster internet services in their homes, instead of relying on mobile internet. This will improve internet access and connectivity for more people in the community. During the ceremony, YB Fahmi highlighted the significant benefits and opportunities that the new PoPs would bring. The new PoPs represent a major step forward in the Government's efforts to narrow the digital gap and promote digital inclusion across Malaysia. A total of 4,370 PoPs had been planned under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) where 4,323 PoPs will be installed near rural schools and 47 PoPs near industrial area. Phase one (1) of the project, involves 677 sites and the remaining will be implemented under phase two (2) over the span of three (3) years, 2022-2025. A total of 233 PoP circuits were installed under phase 1, with 100% completion achieved by TM, ahead of other industry players. “We are thrilled to see the progress and achievements of this project, which will bring significant benefits and opportunities to the community, including improved internet quality, economic development and the development of new infrastructures,” said Shazurawati Abdul Karim, Executive Vice President of TM One. PoP will create a more balanced and inclusive regional development, boosting the growth of new technologies like 5G and future generations of communication technologies. Through this initiative, users in TM's PoP area have now reached over 9,000 and are increasing. A total of 58 of its users are schools that have subscribed to Unifi services. The widespread internet accessibility will not only help to develop the rural economy but more importantly allow learning materials to be downloaded, to improve the quality of education in schools, equipping the future generations with a wealth of knowledge. “As the nation's telecommunications leader, and enabler of Digital Malaysia, TM is committed to support the nation's development agenda through the benefits brought by hyperconnectivity and digital solutions, which will accelerate digital adoption and new economic growth,” added Shazurawati. “The presence of PoP can attract technology companies, start-ups and other businesses that require a high-speed internet connection to operate. This can create more job opportunities, increase innovation, and stimulate economic growth in local communities,” concluded Shazurawati. The collaboration between TM and the Government demonstrates the shared commitment to deliver digital inclusivity throughout Malaysia. For phase two (2) of PoP project, TM has been awarded with 174 sites in the central region. This phase is expected to further boost digital connectivity and economic development for Malaysia.
NEWSLETTER
Just drop your details and stay updated with the world of Telekom Malaysia. We promise – no spam!