Maxis stamps commitment to Sarawak with smart connectivity solutions, signs MoU with SMA
In its commitment to help Sarawak advance its digital economy agenda, Maxis has entered into a partnership with Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) for collaboration on IoT and NB-IoT initiatives. On 8 July, both parties inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 3rd International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS) in Kuching, Sarawak.
The partnership between Maxis and the SMA will focus on three areas:
- Co-develop expertise and share experiences and knowledge on the proven applications of IoT and NB-IoT concepts.
- Foster partnership networking on the design, development and implementation of IoT and NB-IoT solutions
- Developing a strong ecosystem via lab setup support, with specialist support resources to build sustainable and smart solutions.
“At SMA, we have a very clear vision and strategy to accelerate the growth of Sarawak’s economy through the power of technology. A significant part of this strategy is about collaboration between the government and private sector. Leveraging the expertise of our partners will only strengthen our ambitions, so we are pleased to be working with partners like Maxis towards a common goal of harnessing the potential of innovative technology for the betterment of society,” said SMA General Manager, Dr Zaidi Razak.
“We applaud Sarawak Multimedia Authority’s efforts in helping to drive the State’s digital economy agenda, and in recognising the urgent need to accelerate digital technology across many industries. At Maxis, we remain committed to being a strong partner to the government through our network leadership, digital services and connectivity solutions. We want to play an important role in delivering NB-IoT services and solutions, especially for the State’s anchor sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing,” said Paul McManus, Maxis’ Chief Enterprise Business Officer.
At IDECS 2019, Maxis showcased its 5G and IoT capabilities with use cases around manufacturing and agriculture. These included a 5G-enabled drone, robotic arm and fish farm, as well as IoT-related solutions such as smart manhole covers, smart lighting and smart vehicle management using its mDrive solution.
Maxis launched the first commercial NB-IoT service in Malaysia in April 2019, with Kuching being one of the key IoT market centres where it activated its NB-IoT network. The launch enables businesses to deploy industrial IoT applications to form new data streams, enabling actionable insights by connecting simple devices such as sensors.
Meanwhile, Maxis has been continuously building its presence in East Malaysia region through investments and expansion in high speed mobile and fibre networks, as well as distribution and customer touchpoints. In a significant step towards fulfilling its fibre ambitions, Maxis signed a Letter of Understanding with SACOFA at the end of 2018 to have full access to SACOFA’s HSBB Network Services in Sarawak via its FTTX platform, SOFIA (SACOFA Open Fibre Infra Access). Since then, Maxis and SACOFA have signed access agreements, with testing and trials already completed and a target to roll out its already available fibre plans to more Sarawakians by end of July.
To find out more about Maxis NB-IoT, visit https://business.maxis.com.my/iot/narrowband-iot/
