Malaysia is aiming to roll out commercial 5G in the third quarter of 2020, contributing up to RM12.7 billion between 2021 and 2025 to the nation’s economy and potentially creating more than 39,000 new jobs, according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak.

Building on NEC Malaysia’s established role as a system integrator in the country’s 5G ecosystem, Ciena is collaborating with NEC Malaysia to help operators benefit from a more open, automated, and adaptable 5G transport network, built to be cost effective to address current and future 4G and 5G demands while safeguarding network investments into the future.

"Our collaboration with Ciena will bring in up to 100Gbps speed to the radio site, 400G to the Metro, and 800Gbps/lambda in the Core, with a comprehensive SDN solution to provide the most stringent service assurance.”- Chang Heng Wai, General Manager, Head of Network Solutions for NEC Corporation of Malaysia Sdn. Bhd

In speaking with Chang Heng Wai, General Manager, Head of Network Solutions for NEC Corporation of Malaysia Sdn. Bhd, he said: “The consensus on 5G is that it will be the technology that changes our lives. The characteristics of 5G include greater than 10 times the speed of 4G, super-low latency and service assurance. Our collaboration with Ciena will bring in up to 100Gbps speed to the radio site, 400G to the Metro, and 800Gbps/lambda in the Core, with a comprehensive SDN solution to provide the most stringent service assurance.”

5G demands high-performance, best-in-breed designs and yet fully interoperable network. Ciena is leading an industry transformation toward open, standards-based networks so network operators can leverage a broad ecosystem of technologies, vendors, and developments like O-RAN, virtualization, disaggregation, analytics, intelligent closed-loop automation, and Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC).

In February, we announced several new products and capabilities to our 5G Network Solutions, specifically:

  • Unified xHaul Transport, through which you can converge 4G and 5G fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul traffic onto an open, simple, and common transport network.
  • Wavelogic 5, enabling single-wave 800G which delivers at least 50% more capacity per wavelength and a 30% increase in fiber capacity.
  • Blue Planet 5G Automation enhancements of Dynamic Planning capabilities and truly end-to-end network slicing. With these you can deploy significant new categories of 5G applications, massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable Low-Latency Communications (urLLC).
  • Professional Services ranging from consulting to implementation, regardless of your starting point on your unique 4G to 5G evolution. 

For more ideas on how to prepare for 5G, check out our 5G Insights page.