This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 8, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd has, in collaboration with Huawei, kicked off the first 5G live trials in Malaysia, specifically in Cyberjaya, earlier this week.

The trials will be conducted over six months and are expected to provide a deeper analysis of 5G characteristics, Maxis said in a statement yesterday.

This includes the use of spectrum in higher bands, co-existence with current services, as well as use cases such as Gigabit high-speed mobile internet and ultra-high-definition virtual reality applications.

“During the trial so far, Maxis recorded close to 3GB per second download speed,” Maxis said.

The trial follows the recent announcement by the government that Cyberjaya and Putrajaya will become the first smart cities in Malaysia to experience 5G technology.

“Once available, 5G is expected to provide speeds up to 10 times higher than what the 4G network can do today for applications such as Ultra High-Definition VR and 360 degree viewing. It will also open up new use cases in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and drones,” Maxis said.

Maxis and Huawei formalised its 5G acceleration programme through a memorandum of understanding signed in Barcelona last week.

“This is another significant step forward for us in our 5G journey. Over the last few years, we have been assessing the technology and conducting demo trials in our test lab,” said Maxis chief technology officer Morten Bangsgaard.