DNB and Ericsson Launch Program to Drive Digitalization of Enterprises in Malaysia with 5G Technology

Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have announced a program to catalyze the digitalization of enterprises in Malaysia, enabled by the capabilities of the world-leading 5G network.

Formalized through a series of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of YB Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Digital and Börje Ekholm, Ericsson Group CEO, these pioneer industry initiatives will pave the way for advanced technologies to enable the digitalization of enterprises across different industry verticals, and drive Malaysia forward as a leading digital nation.

Intel will be the technology partner, as per an earlier MoU to collaborate on the development of 5G use cases to spur the adoption of the new technology by enterprises.

The MoUs for piloting autonomous transport with eMooVit Technology Sdn. Bhd, fleet management with Scania and smart manufacturing with SKF Malaysia will enable the development of solutions, innovations and capabilities based on 5G connectivity that will address the challenges in the digital journey of the enterprises.

These use cases will drive the development and deployment of new telecommunications solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of these enterprises.

The high-speed and low-latency characteristics of 5G enable efficient communication between machines, robots, and systems within a factory, leading to improved productivity and, efficiency.

According to Ookla’s Q4 2023 report, Malaysia’s 5G network achieved the highest 5G consistency score globally and Malaysia continues to lead in Southeast Asia in terms of 5G network performance.

Head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Mr David Hägerbro says, “Malaysia’s world-class 5G network is ranked among the top five in the world and among the reasons for its success are 5G availability, affordability, great customer experience and network capability. The digital infrastructure that the 5G network has enabled in Malaysia makes doing business in the country more competitive and attractive for foreign investors.”

Hägerbro adds: “We are preparing enterprises for their digitalization with a future-ready network. The digitalization of industries in Malaysia will enable the country to leapfrog as a Digital Nation. But they need to begin planning and investing in their digital journey now or risk being left behind because digitalization is no longer an option.”

DNB’s Chief Strategy Officer Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid said, “Due to the world-class 5G network that we have today, Malaysia is in a very unique position to accelerate its digitalization. The network already covers more than 80% of the population and has one of the best experiential and consistent performances in the world.”

“To further drive the adoption of 5G amongst enterprises, DNB and Ericsson have initiated this program that will secure light houses for key industries to demonstrate the full potential of digitalization and 5G. These will act as catalysts to kick start digitalization across industries.”

Intel and Ericsson will leverage their technology expertise to show how communications service providers can accelerate 5G adoption and expand their business-to-business (B2B) engagements based on 5G use-cases. Intel will be involved in the joint development of enterprise use cases in selected verticals such as manufacturing, transport and logistics.

VP of Foundry Manufacturing & Supply Chain and Intel Malaysia MD Ms AK Chong says, “As 5G becomes a catalyst for industry transformation, Intel’s technology is at the heart of this change, catalyzing AI at the edge and breaking down barriers in the 5G core space. Our long-standing collaboration with industry leaders like Ericsson enables operators to monetize their networks effectively and empower enterprises to deploy intelligent private networks tailored to sectors like manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare. Such deployments are the result of Intel’s sustained investment and development efforts, as well as rigorous lab trials to deliver mainstream solutions that set a standard for industry excellence and are aligned with Malaysia’s vision for a connected and efficient future powered by 5G.”

eMooVit will be providing a range of technologies, including Operational Technology sensors, camera technology and video analytics application software. These technologies serve as foundational components for the development of use cases over the 5G network.

CEO of eMooVit, Dr. Hairi Zamzuri says, “5G is a key technology enabler for our vision of making self-driving vehicles a part of everyday life in Malaysia. Since 2016, we’ve made significant progress developing software for autonomous vehicles in last-mile transportation, logistics, and agricultural robots. This exciting collaboration with Ericsson will be key to bringing these solutions to life through enterprise adoption, and in the long-term, revolutionize urban transportation together.”
The collaboration with Scania will be for the integration of technologies, such as Operational Technology sensors, fleet management systems, and analytics applications. These components will form the foundation for innovative use cases leveraging Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) capabilities.

Managing Director of Scania Southeast Asia Ms Heba Eltarifi says, “With 5G technology, Scania Malaysia aims to explore further optimizing our assembly and our fleet management system to deliver greater efficiency and effectiveness to our customers. This adds to an already growing number of partnerships in driving the shift towards a more sustainable transport system, especially through digitalization.”

The collaboration with SKF Malaysia will be for the use of 5G to complement fibre and WiFi to enable wireless digitalization on the manufacturing shopfloor with use cases such as data shower analysis, video sensor monitoring and data capture.

Managing Director of SKF Malaysia, Mr Vignesh Sakthinathan says, “We are thrilled to embark on this journey with DNB, the driver for Malaysia’s 5G infrastructure development, and Ericsson, a pioneer in communication technology. As the world’s leader in Bearing, Seals, Lubrication systems and technologies, SKF Malaysia’s manufacturing arm is committed to embracing digitalization to drive innovation and deliver value to our customers. We expect this collaboration to represent a significant milestone in our digital transformation journey.”