Celcom to deploy ‘Lightning Fast LTE’ network in August

(from left) Celcom Axiata Berhad chief technology officer Amandeep Singh, Azwan Khan, and head of network planning and engineering Azizee Abdul Aziz briefing the media on the company's new network plans and roadmap towards 5G. — RICKY LAI/The Star

Celcom mobile users will be able enjoy speeds of up to 480Mbps (megabits per second) in August when its “Lightning Fast LTE” network goes live.

The Lightning Fast LTE network is based on LTE Advanced Pro which is an industry standard that’s between LTE-A (LTE Advanced) and the next-gen 5G.

According to Celcom Axiata Bhd deputy CEO Azwan Khan Osman Khan, the initial rollout will start in the Klang Valley before it’s expanded to the rest of the country.

“Speed is important but so is consistency,” said Azwan Khan. “The Lightning Fast LTE transmission speeds of up to and beyond 400Mbps will enable seamless experience for HD, 2K, and 4K multimedia without compromising on quality,” he said.

For instance, the current network, which has a max speed of 300Mbps, can only handle 10 users streaming 4K videos simultaneously but the new network will be able to support up to 20 users.

To be able to enjoy the higher speed, users will need to upgrade their mobile devices to the latest models such as the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ or Huawei P10 which support 4x4 MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) antenna technology.

According to Azwan Khan, the company will be spending RM1.5bil in capital expenditure on the network upgrade.

Celcom’s 4G network blankets 268 major cities and towns nationwide, with a population coverage of 76%. It targets to hit 85% coverage by year-end.

It said that it will start testing 5G as early as May and has partnered with network equipment giants Ericsson and Huawei.