Malaysian telco U Mobile said it has established a strategic backhaul partnership with
Time dotCom as it continues its preparations to help build the country’s planned
second 5G network.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, U Mobile and Time will
develop customised backhaul solutions using Time ’ s extensive fibre backhaul
network to support U Mobile’s 5G deployment strategy and technical requirements.
U Mobile and Time will also develop and implement processes and integration
strategies to optimise network compatibility and enable high performance for all 5G
customer segments, including consumers, enterprises and the public sector.
“By leveraging on Time’s extensive fibre backhaul network, U Mobile is not only
able to expedite coverage of 5G across Malaysia, we will also be able to deliver a 5G
network that features high availability, good resiliency, ultra-low latency and high
bandwidth,” said Woon Ooi Yuen, chief technology officer of U Mobile. “These
performance traits will benefit all users but are especially critical to enable reliable
automation and IoT applications across industries.”
U Mobile already uses Time’s fibre infrastructure to expand availability of its fibre
broadband offering, particularly for high-rise buildings along the west coast of
Peninsular Malaysia.
The two companies have also collaborated on 5G before. In 2019, U Mobile and Time
signed an MoU under which U Mobile used Time’s backhaul network to support
live 5G trials.
Monday ’ s deal is the latest move by U Mobile to assert itself as a leader in
development of Malaysia’s next 5G network, which has been in the works since
May 2023.
U Mobile – along with Maxis, U Mobile, YTL and CelcomDigi ’ s Infranation –
finalised its share subscription agreement (SSA) to take a stake in 5G operator Digital
Nasional Berhad (DNB) in June. The SSAs come with an option that allows each telco
to sell their DNB stake in order to take a stake in the second 5G network. They are
not allowed to own stakes in both.
U Mobile has said it’s committed to play a role in the second network. Earlier this
month, U Mobile signed an MoU with telecoms infrastructure company Edotco
accelerate the rollout of the second 5G network.
