Putrajaya to go 5G with Ericsson in RM11bil deal

[superadmin]

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has awarded Sweden’s Ericsson a RM11 billion contract to design and build its 5G telecommunications network, snubbing Chinese competitor Huawei Technologies.

Today’s announcement comes as Malaysia aims to make 5G connectivity available by year-end and cover 80% of the population by 2024. For starters, services are to be rolled out in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya by the end of the year.

Local media outlet The Edge reported in April that Digital Nasional – a finance ministry entity entrusted with owning and operating the 5G network – had invited eight vendors to participate in the tender, namely Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE, Cisco, NEC, Nokia, Samsung and FiberHome.

Malaysia has not shown the same aversion to Huawei as the United States and several other Western countries, which have blocked it from bidding for government contracts and especially 5G projects over concerns about security and links to Beijing. In February, Malaysia decided to partner with Huawei on a cybersecurity lab.

Earlier, in October 2019, Huawei was brought in as a 5G hardware supplier for Maxis. Under the deal, the Chinese company was to provide 5G radio equipment, services and expertise for Maxis’ network.

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