myNEWS is one of TM One's many existing customers that has successfully integrated TM One SD-WAN services into their business.
With TM One SD-WAN, they can now leverage secure and seamless connectivity to their remote branches which also helps to optimise their IT team's productivity. myNEWS is enjoying new features which enable cashless transactions and in return increase customer spending in its stores nationwide.
Watch this video and know more about myNEWS' journey towards greatness, enabled by TM One SD-WAN.
To learn more about TM One's connectivity services, Contact us here.
To better serve their citizens, state officials in Perak partnered with TM One to address the hurdle of poor connectivity
Recent adoptions such as the SingPass1 app in Singapore and the TaipeiPASS2 in Taiwan signal an uptick in the use of digital services by government agencies across the world to better serve their constituents.
Implementing digital services, however, involves overcoming various hurdles along the path; chief among these is poor or unstable connectivity.
While digital technologies hold much promise for improving social and economic conditions, the fundamental requirement of secure and reliable connectivity remains a global challenge. According to a recent United Nations announcement3, almost half of the world’s population is still offline, leading to concerns around inequality in the digital era.
A paper by Khazanah Research Institute4 also pointed out that internet access is key to social development and that without a strong backbone of digital connectivity, digital services would be ineffective.
The story of how Perak, a state on the west coast of Malaysia, set out to digitalise its services illustrates how certain keys will help unlock the benefits of smart services and address the digital divide. Working with TM One, the enterprise and public sector arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), Perak eventually saw greater improvement in digital connectivity, which helped them connect with their citizens better and more efficiently.
The connectivity conundrum
The Perak state government had established the ‘e-Penghulu’ (penghulu = village chief) platform, to more effectively digitalised essential citizen services. Through this platform, local citizens would be able to quickly access and verify information on grant applications or assistance. In addition to maintaining better quality and consistency of villagers’ information, this digital enhancement of operations would also enable state officials to redirect resources to other areas.
However, poor internet connectivity in Perak hampered the platform’s expected productivity and performance benefits. It was challenging for village chiefs and their staff to access the e-Penghulu system and prevented them from serving the community in a timely and efficient manner.
Consequently, the community experienced long waiting times to be served, which fuelled numerous user complaints and poor uptake of the platform.
Overcoming Perak’s connectivity challenge
To enhance the connectivity in all 72 village chief offices around the state, TM One innovated a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to provide a faster, more resilient, and stable internet connection to all the offices.
This initiative has enabled the speed upgrade from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps connectivity to all the offices, which is sufficient for smooth streaming of high-definition video.
Additionally, SD-WAN proactively monitors the network, detects and corrects any connectivity issues promptly. This high-speed internet fully supports the e-Penghulu service as well as other interconnected government systems.
As a result, the Perak state government has seen an increased uptake, and reduced user complaints.
Commenting on the connectivity upgrade, Dato' Saarani Bin Mohamad, Chief Minister of Perak, said, “Expanding the digitalisation efforts in Perak has been one of the state government’s top aspirations. We want to ensure that all areas – regardless of rural or urban – have access to high-speed connectivity, which is the backbone for the digital economy and digital government. Only with a good and reliable internet connection, we can roll out digital applications and platforms, such as e-Penghulu, that will improve our service for the citizens, or rakyat, of Perak.”
Continued drive to enhance citizens’ lives
TM One is continuing the journey to improve internet access in the state of Perak, involving other state agencies. The road ahead includes introducing statewide internet hotspots for citizens and more digital applications with the goals of boosting efficiency, which include a staff digital attendance system.
The state government also envisages creating a mobile application for the e-Penghulu platform, which will enable Perakians to enjoy all the benefits of e-Penghulu from the convenience of their smartphones.
“TM One has helped Perak tremendously in helping us achieve our digital ambitions. The team understands our needs and goals to become a smart state, and they are always ready when we need their assistance. I am looking forward to more improvements in internet connectivity throughout the state, as well as the deployments of more platforms and applications in the towns of Perak – so that we can become one of the smartest, most digitalised and most sustainable states in the country,” concluded Dato' Saarani.
The digitalisation of government services undoubtedly benefits citizens. As highlighted by the latest World Economic Forum Agenda Dialogues5, the role of public-private partnerships in bridging the digital divide has proven to be a catalytic key during the COVID-19 pandemic. An inclusive 'whole society' approach, involving industry leaders such as TM One and public agencies, will undoubtedly help unlock even more social and economic benefits offered by smart services as the world journeys further into the digital era.
This article was originally published in GovInsider6
1. https://govinsider.asia/intelligent-gov/kendrick-lee-govtech-singpass-4-ways-singapore-uses-digital-identity-to-create-seamless-services/
2. https://govinsider.asia/citizen-centric/4-ways-taiwans-superapp-improves-citizens-lives-lu-hsin-ke/
3. https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/dsgsm1579.doc.htm
4. http://krinstitute.org/assets/contentMS/img/template/editor/20200907%20Inclusion%20v4.0.pdf
5. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/how-to-build-a-bridge-across-the-digital-divide/
6. https://govinsider.asia/digital-economy/how-to-unleash-the-full-power-of-smart-services-in-rural-malaysia-tm-one/
“Having gone through the ups and downs of the last two years, no one has full convictions of what this year will bring. Let us offer you some clarity, by looking at global business trends that can prepare you for the challenges ahead.” – Shazurawati Abd Karim, Executive Vice President, TM One
2021 was a year filled with hope – everyone talked about post-pandemic recovery and hopes of going back to normality. On the contrary, the new variants pushed the world, Malaysia including into another wave of lockdowns and movement restrictions.
As governments rolled out their arsenal of measures for the world to cope and recover from the pandemic, consumers turned to digital tools to enable new ways of work, live, learn, and play. Companies have no choice but to adopt digitalisation to connect to their customers, and pressed ahead in going digital that is essential to ensure business survival.
The past two years saw countries rolling out 5G extensively, with China and the US being the frontrunners. In 2022 and beyond, we can expect an accelerated phase of 5G commercialisation, as governments in developing countries find the right balance between the use of low-frequency, sub-6, and mmWave.
Deployments of small cell infrastructure will soon follow investments in the 5G spectrum to improve coverage indoors and outdoors.
Faster speeds and lower latency in 5G present new commercial opportunities for enterprises in various sectors. Companies remain committed to a 5G-driven future for the consumers.
As experiments involving network slicing bear fruit, expect an explosion of applications – from smart cities, autonomous vehicles and drone delivery to immersive entertainment, mobile robotics and remote health monitoring.
Enterprises now have the opportunity to support data-intensive applications that can create unique and seamless digital experiences for consumers. 5G is not just a a new technology but a business enabler. As a CX-first company, TM One firmly commits to embracing human-centred technology and is more than ready to help enterprises transform their businesses.
According to GSMA, 2022 is the earliest year 5G network slicing would be available. However, even before telcos find the best way to commercialise this budding technology, global enterprises have begun integrating 5G into their business. This on-site solution can offer low latency and high bandwidth connections to many use cases.
Digital enterprises looking to implement breakthrough applications should not ignore private 5G. It provides a valuable platform to enable real-time responses and actions.i Smart manufacturing and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) will benefit significantly from this level of speed and reliability. As telco carriers and cloud service providers increasingly package these private 5G solutions into managed services, enterprises will find it easier to deploy, operate and scale on-premise networks.
The advent of Open Radio Access Network (RAN) has also set a blazing trail in the private 5G space. From lowering barriers to entry, enabling new partnerships and fuelling product innovations, enterprises can leverage multi-vendor technology to create a robust private network. Though implementations among enterprises are still rare, testbeds provide vital information and build essential business cases that can trigger an industry-wide adoption.ii
In recent years, cloud technology has become increasingly essential in the digital transformation journey. As companies shift to digital settings, so did their work files (on the cloud). Gartner predicted that global cloud services spending would reach over US$480 billion in 2022, up by 53% from 2020.iii As a result, more companies will employ cloud computing infrastructure this year as the backbone to deliver excellent digital service.
As cloud technology becomes cheaper with pay-as-you-go models, enterprises will be able to adopt multi-cloud strategies. Bare metal, public, private, hybrid, edge; you name it, companies will look to tap into multiple providers and align shifting priorities with increasing budgets. The trend will gradually move away from a general accumulation of cloud services to a carefully planned set of decisions.iv
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) will also gain prominence in enterprises to help support the growing virtual workloads. With these platforms demanding extreme processing power and data bandwidth, the cloud will be the key solution to unlock new levels of accessibility.
With employees returning to offices and consumers dining at their favourite restaurants, enterprises find themselves struggling at balancing their resources and approach to ensure ultimate customer experience and business performance with this hybrid model of both online and physical services. Retailers and educational institutions included, need to readjust. Technology integration to reshape and reimagine the future of these experiences could bring forth distinct, unique and differentiated services journey for that competitive edge ahead of the competition.
Ransomware attacks have hit many organisations hard in recent years, affecting areas from gasoline shortages to meat supply. As businesses shift to hybrid mode and people spend hours on connected devices, cybersecurity becomes more critical.
With proliferation of IoT devices, enterprises will need to incorporate security into everything from hardware design, software, AI and ML.v If compromised, connected devices will expose users to high risk of attacks.
Edge computing, which brings computation and data storage closer to the sources of data, is also edging closer. You can already find computing networks in a smart city, car, farm, wearable device or even your home. With new architectures and use-cases, along with them come new security risks and requirements. Securing the edge will be the next big priority for companies looking to deliver next-gen digital services at close proximities.
i https://www.voicendata.com/private-5g-innovations-juniper-networks-predictions-2022/
ii https://www.thefastmode.com/expert-opinion/20976-the-open-ran-and-private-networks-of-the-future
iii https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2021/10/25/the-5-biggest-cloud-computing-trends-in-2022/?sh=5183d0192267
iv https://www.ciodive.com/news/cloud-iaas-trends-2022/616860/
v https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/96781-top-15-cybersecurity-predictions-for-2022
The fifth generation (5G) of mobile technology is quite a revolution. It enables localised and custom-tailored 5G experience in private facilities where high-speed, high-capacity, low-latency connectivity is crucial, regardless of whether or not the premises are within a public 5G coverage area. We at TM One are now paving the road for businesses to benefit from this critical driver of digital transformation.” – Nor Hisham Md Nordin, GM Enterprise Mobile, TM One
The concept of private mobile network is not new; it began with 4G/LTE. However, the previous generation of cellular technology couldn't support the speed, latency and reliability needed in today's fourth industrial revolution. As technology becomes mainstream, enterprises struggle with increasing workloads from applications and the proliferation of users and connected devices. Furthermore, increased video content, low-latency and reliability requirements, as well as thousands of intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) devices, have placed unforeseen demands on corporate connectivity.
What is Private 5G?
Like all 5G networks, private 5G is an augmentation of the 4G LTE network and it is designed specifically for an individual enterprise operating in a specific area e.g. a drilling platform in the ocean, a mining field and a factory/shop floor of a manufacturing facility. This controlled solution is especially beneficial for closed-premises requiring wireless access, high speed, low latency, high reliability and security capabilities beyond other network technologies.
At the same time, the total core network capacity can be scaled down significantly, relative to the public network. Plus, quite a few of its functionalities may be dropped altogether, for example voice services via Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over New Radio (VoNR), as private network use cases would be data-centric and not mixed with public voice services.
In terms of technical specifications, private 5G is similar to the public 5G network provided by commercial mobile network operators (MNOs). The critical difference between public and private 5G is allocating priority access and isolation.i Private 5G utilises the same technology but is located entirely on-site and serves the enterprise's own environment. Therefore, the core element of the network does not reside within the MNO's trunk infrastructure, allowing the localisation of the network’s breakout point.
Private 5G networks also enable the complete or partial isolation of end-user devices from consumer networks. In comparison, most public 5G networks offer all users equal access rights, leading to network congestion and increased vulnerability. However, enterprises have flexibility – compatible edge devices can switch freely between private and public networks when isolation is not necessary.
Why Private 5G?
Wireless access technologies such as Wi-Fi, Long Range Wide Area (LoRa) as well as LTE has been solving and improving operational technology (OT) and IoT/M2M in many industry verticals such as manufacturing, mining/drilling and port/transportation for a while now. The network infrastructure evolved from a rigid wired architecture to a flexible and dynamic wireless network. However, while these technologies work well in some environments, they may not in more demanding operations that require high security, high speed, low latency and high reliability network.
5G has been designed to address that via enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) as well as a feature known as massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), which allows millions of connected devices per km2.
Private 5G also increases operational efficiency for enterprises looking to digitise their data and create new digital products. Private 5G can serve as a cheaper alternative to fixed networks for enterprises looking to replace end-of-life legacy networks and scale better mobility solutions.
Rolling out private 5G
The majority of private mobile networks deployed today are dedicated and on-premise systems. As opposed to processing information in distributed cloud architectures, the localisation of the network allows Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to churn through massive volumes of data without ever leaving the privacy and security protocols of the enterprise. As a result, enterprises can gain more control over users, devices, and data flow visibility, significantly reducing data privacy concerns and the risks of cyberattacks.
Alternatively, with the inherent nature of 5G's service-based architecture (SBA), enterprises may combine slices of the public radio network with a dedicated on-premise core network. These slices can store different control and user plane functions that utilise certain portions of a public network. Enterprises can then route network traffic to a private network or Software Defined Virtual Private Network (SD-VPN) on shared infrastructure while running the control and user plane separation (CUPS) of the core network.
Private 5G in action
Private 5G is quickly finding its place in the heart of digital-first enterprises. According to Analysys Mason, the manufacturing and transport sectors are the early adopters of the technology.ii
Private 5G has also played a paramount role in enabling a local tech revolution; case for example is unmanned operations field. Robotics and drones could be used to inspect hard-to-reach areas with remote monitoring that is enabled by robust connectivity infrastructure, even in harsh conditions. The deployment of private, on-site networks significantly accelerate the processing of information collected from the drones' visual, thermal and LIDAR sensors by localising computational processes. Crewless operations across facilities is possible using automation and robotics that ultimately rely on an advanced connectivity infrastructure, i.e. private 5G.
With the heavy industry now benefiting from private 5G in Malaysia, we foresee that Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Transportation and Ports industries would follow soon.
Read more on how municipalities benefit from 5G technology
i. https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/5g-networks/what-is-private-5g
ii. https://www.analysysmason.com/research/content/articles/private-lte-5g-networks-rdme0-rma18-rma17/
This year will see Malaysia accelerate to come up to speed with the global developments in 5G networks. We expect to see its coverage reach up to 40% by the end of 2022.i
Complementing these developments, The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) cites that 5G could contribute over RM12 billion to Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2021 to 2025. So while there is progress in network deployment, how can your organisation prepare for 5G?
A popular strategy is to establish a private 5G network for enterprise use cases. Private 5G networks provide your organisation with a better control to configure the network based on your specific requirements. This often involves establishing locational boundaries and configuring customised network settings.
Designed to support massive loads of operational data for industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications, a private 5G strategy is able to expand artificial intelligence (AI) applications exponentially. In fact, it is an instrumental piece for manufacturers to realise their smart manufacturing goals.ii
Companies can’t afford to ignore these benefits. We live in a hyperconnected world where the speed and quality of services set the winners apart from the rest. As we strive to achieve wider coverage of 5G deployment, it is critical for your team to have a clear picture of how this technology can enhance your business.
To help you, we provide three best practices from the top use-cases of private 5G networks.
1. Leveraging private 5G network for smart factory practices - Fujitsu
Fujitsu Telecom Networks Limited manufactures network equipment, and were quick to deploy private 5G capabilities to support its manufacturing practices. The company’s objective is to develop a ‘human-centred’ smart manufacturing approach for all its plantsiii. This strategy aims to increase the capacity Fujitsu has to adopt technologies such as AI, mixed reality, and IoT.
Initiated at its Oyama plant, Fujitsu has built a private 5G network to facilitate the transformation of its smart manufacturing. This practice includes deploying automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) to transport materials and resources around the facilities.
Apart from autonomous vehicles, Fujitsu uses 5G to expand its video analytics capabilities for the safety of its workers. For example, its plants have HD cameras with real-time AI-powered video analysis, giving instant warnings to workers of any potential risks.
While implementation of such practices is not new, Fujitsu had faced severe limitations due to inadequate network speed and capacity. However, with 5G and its inherent advantages (such as network stability, speed, capacity, and slicing), the manufacturer can now scale these practices seamlessly.
2. Taking full advantage of IoT data with 5G – Volkswagen
A large aspect of realising Industry 4.0 practices comes from an organisation’s ability to handle continuous streams of data across thousands of connected devices on-site. Issues such as hardware costs, maintenance, and updates limit a manufacturer’s ability to adopt IoT at a greater scale. A common problem among manufacturers is IoT connectivity. Before 5G, manufacturers had limited alternatives and often faced electricity consumption, reliability, and scalability issues.
Recognising these limitations, Volkswagen recently deployed a private 5G network in collaboration with Nokia.iv The addition of Nokia’s industrial-grade private 5G network allows Volkswagen’s plant facilities real-time data streaming for IoT devices and manufacturing devices.
With the private 5G network in place, Volkswagen plant operators can leverage instant data transfer directly to vehicles during the manufacturing process. This ability enables a seamless flow of smart connected devices alongside plant workers, providing access to crucial data at much greater speeds.
The introduction of 5G to manufacturing plants allows a superior manufacturing process. Combined with technologies such as machine learning (ML), AI, and edge computing, Volkswagen can now truly take advantage of its data to improve manufacturing procedures.
3. Smart medical facility – KT & Samsung Medical Centre
KT Corp and Samsung Medical Centre (“SMC”) started their 5G journey in 2019 by co-developing 5G-powered medical services.v This partnership included a private 5G network service at SMC with specific network environments catered to the company’s operating theatres.
Continuing from that partnership, KT Corp and SMC have actively widened the adoption of 5G for their medical facility. SMC continues to adopt wider 5G-powered robots – from surgical robots and sanitisation robots to logistics robots.vi
Like smart factories, the medical centre also includes automated guided vehicle (AGV) across the facility to ease the burden of its medical workers. Furthermore, private 5G improves the partnership’s capacity to include higher-end AI capabilities for detecting potential emergency cases.
Other well-received applications include a real-time HD video analysis service for surgeons, enabled by 5G’s ability to handle high loads of data with low latency. This service extends to the education programme, teaching medical trainees with live-sync cameras during operational procedures. For healthcare players, SMC is a strong reference on how deploying 5G can enable a whole suite of smart services. The company’s success is a clear example of how 5G can allow hospitals to move forward with digitalisation.
Moving together for a 5G-enabled future
A common factor behind the success of these use-cases is the close relationships forged between industry players and network operators. This relationship is crucial for the effective implementation of 5G-enabled strategies.
Network configuration, management, and maintenance are just some aspects that industry players might have problems handling. As such, having a mutually beneficial relationship can significantly ease the process for companies to adopt 5G into their operations.
Getting private 5G right is a collaborative process that involves companies working closely with system integrators and network operators. Evidently, the go-to deployment option today for private 5G networks is a hybrid model where companies share responsibilities with network operatorsvii.
With this strategy, organisations can have a reasonable amount of control without the complexities of managing the whole network.
Learn more about TM One Smart Services here
i https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-have-full-5g-network-coverage-2024-%E2%80%94-tengku-zafrul
ii https://www.ibm.com/blogs/digital-transformation/in-en/blog/private-5g-takes-industry-4-0-to-the-next-level/
iii https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2021/0330-01.html
iv https://www.iotworldtoday.com/2021/12/07/volkswagen-deploys-nokias-private-5g-technology/
v https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/asia/kt-and-samsung-medical-center-develop-5g-medical-service
vi https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202109160004
vii https://accedian.com/blog/private-5g-for-manufacturing-how-to-get-it-right-right-from-the-start/
Given the fragility of global conditions and increasing emphasis on using digital innovation to build a safer, and more sustainable future for the betterment of people, we are seeing greater focus on actualising smart communities around the world.
Malaysia's focus on smart cities and smart communities is also gaining momentum and reflects the wider trend. The global smart cities market size estimated to grow from US$457 billion last year to US$873.7 billion by 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8%, according to a Markets and Markets1 report,
Taking a few steps back, the unveiling in 1996 of Malaysia’s digital economy vision, started with Cyberjaya, which was seeded as the country's smart city, within a national vision to become a digital economy hub starting with the MSC Supercorridor (MSC Malaysia) platform2.
As a smart city zone, Cyberjaya3, was tasked to become a test bed to nurture emerging technologies and to become a preferred tech investment location, according to Najib Ibrahim, managing director, Cyberview Sdn Bhd in an interview with Disruptive Asia last year4.
Jumping ahead a few years to last year, we saw two launches to spur Malaysia's smart city aspirations: the Smart City Handbook: Malaysia5 on 22 June 2021 by Malaysia’s former housing and local government (KPKT) minister YB Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin and the UK’s high commissioner, H.E Charles Hay; closely followed by the soft launch on 29 June 2021 by technological partnership think tank MIGHT6 (Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology) of its Smart City Outlook 2021/22 (MSCO) report7.
Continued major smart city developments include: the Smart Selangor8 initiative, aiming to make it the most liveable state within the region by 2025; Smart City Iskandar Malaysia9, and various digital programmes under DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) under its Kuala Lumpur Smart City Blueprint 2021-202510.
In the same week of MIGHT’s report, the government announce the appointment of Swedish ICT company Ericsson as 5G development partner to build an end-to-end rollout of a SWN (single wholesale network) in Malaysia at a total cost of RM11 billion ($2.65 billion), according to a statement by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) – which is the government entity overseeing the rollout of MyDigital11.
Interestingly, Malaysia’s announcement of its national 4IR policy, which was also in the first week of July, posited a smart city framework. As envisaged by Malaysia’s Smart City Framework under the 12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025, of which MyDigital is a component12, the digitalisation of society and the economy is seen as vital to accelerate Malaysia’s recovery and to enhance the quality and safety life.
However, at the time of writing, the regulator Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) and the Finance Ministry tabled a memorandum slated for 11 March 2022 to the Malaysian Cabinet for a decision on the possibility of opting for a dual wholesale network (DWP).
Regardless of the rollout approach, the 5th generation wireless technology is viewed by industry and governments as positing the potential to spur smart city growth and bring more communities into the digital arena.
Recently, the country's housing and local government minister Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican said:, “At the top of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s agenda is to promote the philosophy of ‘Liveable Malaysia’ in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan. ‘Liveable Malaysia’ emphasises on ensuring that the rakyat’s [the people's] wellbeing is safeguarded and defended within the purview of our ministry. Among the key focus of ‘Liveable Malaysia’ is mainstreaming digitalization in the service delivery of local authorities as well as adopting advanced technology in the development of cities within the Malaysia Smart City Framework.”
His comment came in late February of this year during the United Kingdom' virtual Smart Cities Mission to Malaysia, which again served as the latest spur to review the smart cities and smart communities aspects of Malaysia's digital transformation agenda.
Held 22-24 February, the three day mission's objectives were two-fold: to increase collaborations to encourage smart city development in local government and housing and related fields; and to introduce offerings from about 40 UK smart city solutions providers.
Speakers at the panel discussion on capitalising technology to build a sustainable and smart digital economy13 included Asia Pacific Digital Trade Network regional director Christopher Bush (acting as the moderator, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) vice president Ir Dr Karl Ng, Tech London and Global Tech Advocates founder Russ Shaw CBE, and TM One executive vice president Shazurawati Binti Abd Karim.
In her opening, Shazurawati pointed to AI as constituting a key driver today among emerging technologies, enabling new levels of efficiencies for businesses and organisations of any size as well as its use in daily lives through mobile apps for shopping, transport, banking, customer service through chat bots, cyber security detection and mitigation, and so on.
Citing a recent IDC report - IDC MaturityScape Benchmark: Artificial Intelligence in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) 14 - that revealed 42% of Asia Pacific enterprises were deploying AI albeit in isolated projects, she affirmed that: "AI offers a core capability in digital transformation and maturity levels in the region; and another research study assessing Asean suggests that AI may add one trillion dollars to the region's GDP by 2030 if we do this right."
Russ Shaw concurred with her comments the importance of AI and added 5G, blockchain among others. "We need high speed connectivity to enable emerging technologies across enterprise and public sectors including smart cities."
Indeed, founder chair of Outreach UN ITU Prize ACM for good Global Summit Stephen Ibaraki , writing from his pro bono work15 involving more than 100,000 CEOs, investors, experts and scientists, concludes that: "By 2030 AI will measurably influence and impact more than 8.5 billion people, across all sectors, and human & earth diverse ecosystems on an unprecedented scale."
"Technological impact on Malaysia with technologies through smart city adoption is rightly balanced with sustainable - green technology - considerations. Malaysia is blessed with a lot of ongoing development from an infrastructure perspective," commented Shazurawati, citing the use of technologies such as IoT sensors to detect, predict and mitigate local climate challenges such as haze, regular flooding, soil erosion, and traffic management.
Speaking to other societal aspects, she said: "Safety and convenience of the community is a high priority: For example, using AI and smart service solutions, we believe that integrated smart city surveillance such as using CCTV is only really useful with the use of analytics and AI through an integrated operations centre. Beyond public safety, we can use it as tool for cohesive disaster management, which will be enhanced with the coming of 5G. The volume and required speed of 5G will be part of the perfect recipe for smart city developments."
Shazurawati added that Malaysia's adoption would need to embrace solutions beyond CCTV such as drones to cover larger surveillance areas such as ports, platforms and refineries.
"During the pandemic, we learned to use drones to deliver medical supplies to remote areas. With regards to 5G, she said that Malaysia's aim is to roll out 5G coverage to 80% of the population by 2024 in order to deliver impactful opportunities and benefits16 through services for smart city development."
Malaysia's smart digital economy testbed cases demonstrating the potential of 5G hark back to 2019/2020 when MCMC – together with various telecoms stakeholders such as Telekom Malaysia (TM) 17, Celcom Axiata, Digi Telecommunications, Edotco Malaysia, Maxis Broadband, U Mobile, Petroliam Nasional, and YTL Communications – held 5G Malaysia Demonstration Projects (5GDP) in six states involving an initial investment of RM143 million.
At the time, Malaysia envisioned 100 use cases embracing nine verticals - agriculture, education, entertainment/media, digital healthcare, manufacturing and processing, Energy, smart city, smart transportation and tourism. Some of these use case demonstrated some of the benefits that digital technologies with enhanced communications such as 5G would bring such as enhanced security, safety and economic opportunities to communities on the island of Langkawi, and its potential as a smart island18.
Shazurawati said, "[Since then] TM One has worked with several council municipalities with surveillance, smart traffic, smart lighting, smart building projects are part of the matrix to enhance the quality of life, to use technology to raise happiness levels of a city - to develop happy cities."
This approach bodes well with sentiments from and other industry leaders. Closing the digital divide and benefitting humankind were two of the themes in a recent interview19 with UN agency ITU (Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau) 20 director Chaesub Lee. “There is a lot of talk about AI in emerging technical areas, but we want to find a practical approach,” Lee said. “We bring someone having problems they need to solve, and we bring someone who wishes to provide the solution, and then we have them meet to facilitate how to utilize AI and ML to help humankind.”
Similarly, Jouko Ahvenainen, pioneer in digital finance and data analytics, opined21 that smart city models often overlook one key component - the people in them that though 'one main objective of smart cities is to collect data to improve and develop services', the value of such developments to people and their privacy appears to have a lower priority'.
TM One's stance is to offer building blocks to the private and public sectors - such as smart premises, smart agriculture, smart manufacturing, and so on22 - to develop smart happy cities, said Shazurawati.
MDEC's Dr Karl echoed these trends by detailing some of the projects MDEC has been encouraging. The availability of data, balanced with security & privacy concerns, remains one of the challenges. The need for policy and government direction coupled with skills and right awareness are other factors to use technology to enhance productivity and generate wealth.
Co-creation, partnerships are vital to move forward, Shazurawati said. She added that global spending on smart city solutions could reach USD 2.5 trillion dollars by 2026.
"To better unleash innovation, connectivity is fundamental and we cannot live without this. To deliver services, we need to build these on a strong digital foundation - formed by cloud, data centres, cybersecurity and smart services," she said.
Shazurawati agreed with Dr Karl that data and the correct exchange of data is a powerful enabler of executing more citizen services, and applications.
"We need to be open to explore new business models with a human centred, integrated approach geared towards raising happiness levels. A strong, sustainable digital foundation with collaboration and new ways of working is the way forward," she said.
"Citizens deserve a one stop service with single-sign through a digital ID on for services as part of an effective smart city model, Shazurawati added. "Public and private partnership platforms will certainly accelerate development."
Russ Shaw echoed these statements and added that investment from both public and private capital is a critical element for smart economy and smart city development. "The importance of growth capital from both sectors is needed to enable the innovation and implementations discussed in the panel. How to encourage businesses of all sizes and Cale to measure their environmental impact. This is the importance of data as Shazurawati and Dr Karl have been speaking eloquently about."
Smart cities operate through the collection of data to improve and develop services. Establishing smart cities relies on smart data – or in other words – cohesive connections between advanced technologies, a flow of data combined with relevant culture change, and administration processes will help to heighten Malaysia’s sustainable smart city development: a trajectory fit to meet the demands of the 4th Industrial Revolution era.
Speaking back in 2017, Hazmi Yusof, managing director, Malaysia and senior vice president at Frost & Sullivan said: “Communication service providers and network service partners play a key role in forming the technological backbone to roll-out smart cities. Singtel in Singapore and Telstra in Australia have laid out US$500 million and US$100 million, respectively, to enable smart city technology platforms and infrastructure. Telekom Malaysia in Malaysia plans to build a data centre and provide cloud computing and smart services in a technology park,” said Hazmi back in 2017.
He also said, “Connectivity will be a key enabler while designing an omni-channel experience platform across all touch points including online and mobile. Data from sensors will enable new technologies to integrate softer aspects, such as customer perception and citizen awareness.”
In the pre-pandemic era, Frost & Sullivan pointed to 10 cities in Asia Pacific that were posited to become smart cities by 202523.
Technology and governance will among key enablers for participants in the smart city ecosystem in Asia-Pacific, he said. “Several government agendas in this region are driving the building of smarter cities in Singapore, Japan, China, and South Korea. Investments are expected to grow from US$55.6 billion in 2013 to US$260 billion in 2020,” he said. “Eight emerging cities also have standalone smart city projects, which when scaled-up, can achieve the smart city status by 2030 and beyond.”
The analyst firm's definition is that: 'Smart cities are cities built on “smart” and “intelligent” solutions and technology that focuses on managing and improving its citizen lives in a responsible and sustainable manner.'
Together with critical importance of balancing the pace of urbanisation with the need to manage planetary sustainability, a smart journey will separate the winners from the laggards."
As part of its smart cities and inclusive growth programme, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2020, released a paper, which24, acknowledges the timeliness of utilising the benefits of smart cities as “particularly critical to help cities and countries manage and rebound from this unprecedented global crisis.”
Moving forward, Najib, in his recent Disruptive Asia interview25, asserted that, "Cyberview is one key thread in Malaysia’s smart city story", adding that the 'new masterplan has been designed to provide dynamic synergies between companies from various industries and entire value chains, addressing one of the gaps faced by businesses today: working in silos. Its four distinctive zones will optimise productivity and amplify growth with the three tech clusters to enhance liveability, ultimately transforming Cyberjaya into the centre for global tech powerhouses and promising startups.'
During 2021, Covid-19 related challenges were added prompts to Malaysia’s public authorities to embark on a track to refresh smart city initiatives using digital smart services to upscale service levels, citizen well-being, and especially important at this time – to forge the space for sustainable economic growth and recovery.
TM One, in accord with other industry players, sees the smart city concept pivot from the ‘nice to have’ to the ‘must implement today’ for Malaysia.
Furthermore, an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) paper in 2020, released as part of the organisation’s programme on smart cities and inclusive growth26, reinforces the timeliness of smart city development as “particularly critical to help cities and countries manage and rebound from this unprecedented global crisis.”
A consistent sentiment in most industry and public conversations is that the meaningful development of smart communities and cities to deliver real benefits to people and societies depends on highly collaborative public-private partnerships, supplemented by academia.
The year 2021's Covid-19 related challenges also helped to encourage Malaysia’s public authorities to refresh and accelerate smart city initiatives to maintain as well as upscale service levels, citizen well-being, and especially important at this time – to forge the space for sustainable economic growth and recovery.
The original version of this article was first published on Disruptive Asia. (https://disruptive.asia/pushing-malaysias-smart-city-development-2022/)
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