Huawei and Maxis deploy world’s first triband Massive-MIMO site

As Malaysia awaits the government’s decision on who and how exactly 5G networks will be deployed in the country, telco company Maxis is already moving towards deploying solutions to meet the diverse service demands.

In fact, Maxis and every other telco company in Malaysia are 5G ready as they wait to roll out the network via their preferred method.

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For now, Maxis has successfully deployed the world’s first commercial Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) Tri-band (LTE 1800MHz, 2100MHz & 2600MHz) Massive-MIMO site on a live network in Malaysia with Huawei Technologies. The deployment is expected to address the rapid growth of data traffic and diverse service demands.

The Massive-MIMO is a multiple antenna technology in 4G and 5G networks whereby a large number of antenna arrays are used to improve the site’s capacity in heavy traffic scenarios and can be deployed in both commercial and residential areas. Think of it as an ecosystem of antennas in a specific area.

As Malaysia moves towards an endemic stage, there still is a big need for stable connectivity with more Malaysians relying on online activities and adopting digitalization, especially with remote working and learning. Maxis recorded a surge in average monthly data usage per user, from 17GB in the first quarter of 2020 to 24GB currently, and this figure is expected to grow in the future.

The Huawei FDD Massive-MIMO solution’s unique array antenna design and intelligent algorithms maximize Maxis’ site capacity and provide performance improvements in comparison to the previous 4T4R (4-Transmit 4-Receive antenna) MIMO technology at existing sites. FDD Massive-MIMO technology is capable of boosting network capacity by 3x and enhancing user experience by 4x (vs 4T4R).

According to Gokhan Ogut, Chief Executive Officer of Maxis, Massive-MIMO is very much in line with its commitment to empowering all Malaysians and businesses in the country to be connected in every possible way, at all times.

“We are pleased to be working with Huawei to deploy this global first and provide the best connectivity experience for our customers so that they can always be ahead in this accelerating digital world,” said Ogut.

For Michael Yuan, CEO of Huawei Malaysia, the FDD 3 Bands Massive-MIMO project will mitigate network congestion and optimize Maxis’ spectrum efficiency, emphasizing on seamless experience for customers.

He added, “Huawei focuses on innovative chip designs and algorithms that are Artificial Intelligence-based. The FDD 3 Band Massive-MIMO solution is also designed with high-quality hardware material and advanced heat dissipation technologies that cost-effectively are energy saving. This will future-proof digital advancement, empower businesses, protect investments, and set a new standard for mobile broadband network construction.”

The latest deployment by Maxis and Huawei Malaysia is another key milestone in supporting its 4G network while being 5G-ready.