Maxis launches Malaysia’s first commercial narrowband-IoT service

Paul McManus, head of enterprise, Maxis said there was an immense amount of opportunities for NB-IoT especially around big data analytics and in enabling real life use cases.

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd launched Malaysia's first commercial Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service in selected areas including Cyberjaya, Penang, Kuching, Putrajaya, Johor Bahru, and KLCC.

It said on Tuesday it had activated its NB-IoT network in these selected areas which were within the key IoT market centres.

NB-IoT, a dedicated network for IoT technology, brings 5G-like capabilities albeit for lower bandwidth applications.

Maxis said NB-IoT can support millions of connected things which consumes very low power and therefore lends itself to delivering a long battery life. 

The technology will power up Big Data and enable advanced data analytics to help make decisions in areas such as potential cost savings, improved efficiency and new business opportunities. 

“As part of the launch, Maxis will also offer NB-IoT solutions and promote the development of the local ecosystem through sharing of global best practices and the curation of best in breed solutions.

“Businesses will now be able to deploy industrial IoT applications to form new data streams, enabling actionable insights by connecting simple devices such as sensors,” it said.

To bring this project to life,  Maxis, as Vodafone’s preferred IoT partner in Malaysia, will be leveraging its existing collaboration with the company by having access to its global experience in NB-IoT deployment across multiple countries. 

Using Vodafone’s market leading platform, Maxis will be able to deliver a market-proven technology for businesses in Malaysia looking to implement NB-IoT services in their operations. 

Paul McManus, head of enterprise, Maxis said there was an immense amount of opportunities for NB-IoT especially around big data analytics and in enabling real life use cases. 

“The launch will encourage the development of an ecosystem of partners, developers and customers that will offer even more opportunities for enterprises, to better manage and optimise their assets, their environment, their energy usage and the safety of their people, and to unlock the potential for the delivery of new services in the Malaysian market. This is a significant step for us as it sets the standards in the deployment of IoT solutions,” he said. 

Maxis NB-IoT is currently being piloted in several industries for multiple industry leading use cases that will enable improved efficiency and possible new business models. These include smart metering and environmental monitoring. 

There are also solutions in Maxis IoT Innovation Lab that include smartlighting, parking monitoring, smoke alarms and more. 

They have the potential to open up new possibilities for key stakeholders such as government, state councils and Malaysian businesses in the areas of agriculture, utilities and Smart Cities, to name a few.