KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Maxis Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to collaborate on the Internet of Things (IoT) and Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) initiatives.
In a statement, Maxis said the collaboration would focus on developing expertise and shared experiences as well as knowledge on the proven applications of IoT and NB-IoT concepts, while fostering partnership networking on the design, development and implementation of IoT and NB-IoT solutions.
Both parties are also to develop a strong ecosystem via lab setup support, with specialist support resources to build sustainable and smart solutions.
Maxis chief enterprise business officer Paul McManus said the communications service provider applauded SMA’s efforts in helping drive the state’s digital economy agenda in recognising the urgent need to accelerate digital technology across many industries.
“Maxis remains committed to being a strong partner to the government through our network leadership, digital services and connectivity solutions. We want to play an important role in delivering NB-IoT services and solutions, especially for the State’s anchor sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing,” he said.
SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak said a significant part of the strategy was about collaboration between the government and private sector.
“Leveraging the expertise of our partners will only strengthen our ambitions.So, we are pleased to be working with partners like Maxis towards a common goal of harnessing the potential of innovative technology for the betterment of society,” he added.
Maxis launched the first commercial NB-IoT service in Malaysia in April 2019, with Kuching being one of the key IoT market centres where it activated its NB-IoT network.
The launch enables businesses to deploy industrial IoT applications to form new data streams, enabling actionable insights by connecting simple devices such as sensors.
Meanwhile, Maxis has been continuously building its presence in Sabah and Sarawak through investments and an expansion in high speed mobile and fibre networks, as well as distribution and customer touchpoints. — Bernama
