WHEN Ericsson Malaysia became the sole vendor to roll out the country’s nationwide fifth generation (5G) network in July last year, the deal raised plenty of questions and drew criticism from various parties.

       More than six months later, following a period that saw multiple movement restrictions being imposed and the country facing easily one of its worst healthcare crises imaginable, the 5G rollout is still on schedule.

       With the platform already being rolled out in parts of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, Ericsson’s South-East Asia, Oceania and India market area head Nunzio Mirtillo is confident the group will achieve what it had initially set out to do.

       “We are on schedule and we will continue to be on schedule,” he tells StarBizWeek.

       “We signed the contract in the middle of last year. But in only six months, despite being under Covid-19 restrictions – which we have never used as an excuse, we were able to cover Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. That, in my book, is one of the fastest rollouts we’ve done.”

       The 5G rollout is expected to reach approximately 80% coverage in populated areas by the end of 2024. “By the end of this year, we are targetting 40% of the populated areas in the country to have access to 5G,” says Mirtillo.

       The 5G contract, worth RM11bil, was awarded by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), a Malaysian special-purpose vehicle company owned by the Finance Ministry and regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

       The deal raised plenty of questions, as it was considered rare for any telecoms player or government body to award huge billion-ringgit contracts for crucial network infrastructure to a single vendor.

       DNB would soon reveal that Ericsson Malaysia’s bid was RM700mil lower than the next bidder.

       However, Mirtillo reveals that cost was not the only determining factor when it came to finding the right suitor for the 5G job. “The tender process was advised and facilitated by EY Consulting and followed the strictest standards of governance. There were several criteria and we came out number one in all of them. We won on our own merit,” he says.

       More recently, concerns were raised about the general safety of 5G, especially in light of recent reports that 5G frequencies could disrupt vital equipment aboard airlines.

       Over the past few weeks, dozens of flights in the United States had to be cancelled as a result of purported 5G-related issues.

       The US-based Federal Aviation Administration had also warned that potential 5G interference could affect readings that play a crucial role in bad-weather landings on some aircraft.

       Mirtillo says he does not see anything like this ever happening in Malaysia. “The platform that we are rolling out in Malaysia – it’s being used in over 40 countries around the world and none of them have had or reported any issues so far.

       “Furthermore, the C-band we are using is different from the one used in the US, so there should not be any problems.”

       A C-band refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum allotted for satellite transmissions in the 4GHz to 8GHz frequency range.

       According to reports, the 5G in the US operates in the C-band that has a 3.7GHz to 3.98GHz bandwidth, while countries like Malaysia have a C-band of 3.4GHz to 3.6GHz.

       Last month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said it had not received any reports from airlines operating within Malaysian airspace of potential 5G interference to their flight operations from mobile applications.

       As part of the agreement to supply, deliver and manage DNB’s 5G network and based on its experience of raising funds for infrastructure projects in other markets, Ericsson Malaysia is helping to arrange the financing of network equipment from foreign and domestic financial institutions.

       Mirtillo says this was the standard practice: “Yes, this is something that Ericsson does for large infrastructure jobs like the DNB Project.”

       Ericsson, a leading information and communications technology company headquartered in Sweden, is no stranger when it comes to rolling out 5G platforms.

       “We are now powering 109 5G networks around the world. More than 50% of the 5G networks around the world are powered by Ericsson. We are powering 5G networks in 48 countries,” says Mirtillo.

       Additionally, he says Ericsson is also no stranger to doing business in Malaysia. “Ericsson has been in Malaysia since 1965 and we have been part of the telecommunications journey since the start, from 2G to now, 5G.

       “Being in the country, we’ve not only been providing technology to our customers, but we are also working with the local telco service providers.”

       Mirtillo emphasises that Malaysia has always been an important South-East Asian hub for Ericsson. “Now that we have been awarded the 5G project, we are committed to delivering a world-class service to this country.

       “This goes beyond the business as such, because it is about being able to deliver a fantastic platform for the benefit of the consumers and the enterprises in Malaysia.”

       With 5G transforming the world, Mirtillo says rolling out the service will open up new possibilities for people and businesses in Malaysia.

       “Given that 5G is significantly faster, has ultra-low latency, offers larger network capacity while being secure and more reliable, it will speed up the digital transformation of Malaysia and enable the country to embrace Industry 4.0.”

       Mirtillo explains that there are many factors to be considered when rolling out the 5G platform in Malaysia. “When it comes to rolling out a project like this, we focus on a few things in ensuring that we provide the best 5G experience and network to the country.

       “One of them is the speed of the network rollout, because the faster we are, the sooner Malaysian consumers and enterprises can benefit from it.”

       Mirtillo says affordability is also a crucial factor to be considered. “This is because 5G and the solution we are providing will make it possible to substantially lower the cost per gigabyte compared with a normal 4G network.

       “That is extremely important because it will boost financial and social inclusion.

       “Also, with 5G technology, we can reach rural and remote areas and provide services that were previously not available. Therefore, we also aim to reduce the digital divide.”

       Additionally, Mirtillo says the deployment of 5G in Malaysia will have a multiplier effect for the economy. “The 5G deployment will see direct involvement of local contractors, contribution to the development of local skills and manpower, transfer of knowledge and expertise.

       “We are also nurturing a new generation of Malaysians who will graduate from universities and be able to contribute to the transformation towards a digital economy.”

       Mirtillo says Ericsson Malaysia is working with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and DNB to establish a pipeline of 5G-ready students that will help prepare Malaysian graduates to contribute to the country’s digital economy and Industry 4.0 transformation.

       “This is done by providing education material and content to complement the engineering and technology courses for university level students and young professionals.”

       Ericsson also recently set up a local network operations centre (NOC) that will monitor, maintain and manage network faults, security and performance key performance indicators, as it gradually rolls out the 5G network in Malaysia.

       “The NOC provides an assurance for the performance and health of the 5G network for operators, consumers and enterprises who are using it, so this contributes to the uptake of 5G,” Mirtillo says.

       “It will also serve as the first point of contact for all mobile network operators for technical issues, customer complaints, network performance, quality-related matters, billing and charging-related issues.”