Celcom, ZTE to launch 100 new 4G LTE sites in east M'sia

  • Celcom, ZTE to deploy 100 4G LTE sites starting Nov 2021
  • To bridge digital divide for B40 families via #MyBaikHati campaign

Celcom, ZTE to launch 100 new 4G LTE sites in east M'siaCelcom Axiata Bhd and ZTE Corporation have jointly announced that they will deploy 100 4G LTE sites in the states of Sabah and Sarawak starting November 2021. 

In a statement, Celcom said in preparation for the 3G network shutdown by the end of this year, Celcom aims to reduce the digital divide by providing a better Internet experience in rural areas that are harder to reach with the deployment of LTE 900MHz technology at the 100 targeted sites. 

It said that this will provide a quick solution for 4G improvement and enables users with seamless connectivity.

In addition, this will also provide better in-building penetrating powers, thus allowing a more robust transmission of data and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, it added.

Earlier in April 2021, Celcom and ZTE said it had combined technology expertise and skills to successfully complete 4G LTE upgrading initiatives throughout 70 sites within Sabah and Sarawak, with the deployment of LTE 1800MHz bandwidth.

It said the upgrading initiative quickly addressed the increasing data traffic and to immediately improvise network quality within the areas involved.

These network upgrading activities also helped improve the connectivity for the schools within the areas, among others were Sekolah Kebangsaan Kukuro (22km from Beaufort), Sekolah Kebangsaan Rancangan Klias (16km to Beaufort), Sekolah Kebangsaan Nanamun (24km from Kota Belud town), and Sekolah Kebangsaan Samparita (26km to Kota Marudu).

Celcom said it is also working with ZTE to improve coverage around six schools in rural Sarawak by the fourth quarter of the year.

Idham Nawawi, chief executive officer of Celcom Axiata, said that Celcom has been relentless in optimising its network coverage, capacity, and resiliency by accelerating network investments at the most needed areas, especially at the most rural parts of the country.

“We are committed to providing a consistent quality network experience for our customers, especially as the nation and industry is gearing towards the shutdown of 3G services by year end. 

“Having an experienced and skilled technological partner such as ZTE, will further accelerate our efforts to greater lengths, towards befitting our aspiration in supporting the Government’s Jendela ambitions and provide consistent and inclusive connectivity for Malaysians nationwide,” said Idham.

Besides collaborating to support Malaysians with quality network coverage, Celcom said both companies further reached out to B40 families via the #MyBaikHati device crowdsourcing programme, an industry initiative aimed to support online home-based learning for the less privileged.

ZTE’s managing director for Malaysia, Steven Ge, said “We will continue to support Celcom’s goal to connect customers through a high-quality network, wherever it may be, by jointly monitoring network optimisation, network performance and customer experience in the post-3G era to deliver an optimal experience for users.”

 

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