UTM and Ericsson Malaysia to Collaborate in 5G

Post date: Oct 27, 2015 7:56:31 AM

22th Oct- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Ericson (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to seal the partnership in the research and development of 5^th Generation (5G) mobile communication technology.

“It’s time for us to rekindle and strengthen the close collaboration between UTM and Ericsson (Malaysia) again through this MoU,” said the Vice Chancellor of UTM, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar during the MoU signing ceremony.

The partnership between UTM and Ericsson (Malaysia) can be traced back approximately 20 years ago. In 1990s, when the mobile wireless communication industry started to bloom in Malaysia, the Wireless Communication Centre (WCC) of UTM, known as Wireless Communication Research Laboratory (WCRL) at the time, worked closely with Ericsson Malaysia on research project to study the impact of tropical rain attenuation on microwave communication links. Ericsson had generously provided research funding and donated equipment to WCC UTM to conduct research. This collaboration was proven fruitful, where the outcomes includes, but not limited to, numerous postgraduate students graduated under this research program, publication of high impact research journal and conference papers, knowledge sharing and transfer to the local industries.

Last year, WCC UTM has been awarded the status of Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HI-COE), by the Ministry of Education. WCC UTM is the first and only HICoE in the area of wireless communication in Malaysia. WCC is actively involved in research and development activities in the niche area of antennas and propagations for 5G mobile communication. With the support from the government and the industry, especially Ericsson, WCC UTM aims to become one of the prominent 5G research centre in this region by the year of 2017, aligned with the aspiration of the Ministry of Education.

The President of Ericsson Malaysia, Todd Ashton believed that the partnership with UTM will accelerate innovation towards 5G, realise the company’s vision of networked society and ultimately contribute to nation building.

The MoU document was signed by UTM’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar and Mr. Todd Ashton, President of Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The ceremony was held at Chancellery Meeting Room, Menara Razak, UTM Kuala Lumpur on October 22nd, 2015.