01 Jun 2022
TM R&D’s Customer-focused innovations recognised at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards
In-house smart solutions for Fixed Wireless Access connectivity and customer experience platform for frontliners awarded under “Connectivity-Telecommunications” and “AI-IT Services” categories respectively
Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), recently bagged two awards at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022, organised by the Singapore Business Review.
The Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards spotlights exceptional companies who are technology disruptors that boosts Malaysia’s economy. TM’s Fast Internet for All (FIRA) solution was bestowed the award under the “Connectivity-Telecommunications” category, while TM’s Single Platform on Intelligent Customer Experience (SPICE.ai) won the award in the “Artificial Intelligence (AI)-IT Services” category.
Commenting on these awards, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, “I couldn’t be prouder of my team as these awards reflect their commitment to meet the fast-evolving digital needs of today’s customers and strengthen our position as a research leader in these fields. This recognition also reaffirms our efforts in building smarter digital ecosystems to facilitate the ease with which Malaysians can embrace a more digital lifestyle, while also bringing progress to the nation.”
FIRA was introduced as a way to support the government in providing Malaysians with quality access to digital connectivity nationwide. Aimed at offering better internet service to underserved communities, FIRA uses Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technologies to improve connectivity in rural areas across Malaysia. Since its first deployment in Malacca back in July 2020, the solution has demonstrated promising success in improving download and upload link speeds compared to other broadband services. The solution has since been implemented at a rural school in Selangor and at Pusat Komuniti Desa sites under the Ministry of Rural Development. It has also supported an IR4.0 use case in Terengganu.
“FIRA is formulated to address two common issues: coverage and speed. The solution is capable to deliver connectivity up to 50Mbps within 5-8km range, compared to a traditional 4G cell within 1km range. Furthermore, with its quick deployment procedures, FIRA can help mitigate customers’ connectivity concerns in a cost-effective and timely manner,” shared Dr. Sharlene.
SPICE.ai, on the other hand, aims to assist frontliners in their daily task of addressing customer service enquiries and requests.
Dr Sharlene explained, “SPICE.ai consists of multiple components that cover different parts of an existing customer experience system. By integrating these components, frontliners gain a more holistic view of each customers’ profiles. The solution then implements real-time analytics to improve customer experience, giving frontliners the right information at the right time which allows them to deliver a better experience to customers.”
This analytics system has been deployed nationwide for nearly two years and becomes the primary touchpoint for more than 5,000 TM frontliners in most customer interactions across multiple channels. The performance of SPICE.ai has proven to be reliable and seamless even when integrated with more than 20 existing, standalone systems and was still able to relay the processed information through one single platform, on top of providing analytics and advisory.
Established in 2001, TM R&D is the innovation arm of TM Group focusing on creating smarter ecosystems to make business and life easier for a better Malaysia. TM R&D’s solutions are clustered around four pillars namely Intelligent Platforms, Data Brokerage, Connectivity/Tools and IR4.0/Digital Solutions. Growing from strength to strength, TM R&D has won multiple global awards and generated more than 2,800 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and 1,400 digital assets to date. TM R&D’s innovations are developed in-house and cut across multiple industries such as Utilities, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education, with safety and productivity as its top priority.
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TM wins again at Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2021 for its innovation, patrol
This is the fourth award received by TM at Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards in three years running Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) through its innovation arm, TM Research & Development (TM R&D) wins the AI – Telecommunications Award at the recent Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2021, presented by Singapore Business Review. The award was conferred in recognition of the Company's achievement in developing PATROL as a proof of function for research particularly on automatic detection of construction using vehicle dashcam and generate proactive alerts using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms. This is the fourth award received by TM R&D from the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards in its three years of running. The awards ceremony lauds exceptional companies that have successfully pioneered IT products, solutions and innovative technology projects in their respective industries to boost Malaysia's fast-growing economy. Commenting on the accomplishment, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, "This is indeed a proud moment for us. Winning the award is a huge boost for our effort in showcasing how AI can be applied to solve real-life problems. It is also a huge encouragement for us to further strengthen our position as the leader in the research, development and innovation field. This award goes out to the team for delivering such outstanding work. We hope it will give them the drive to explore more innovations for TM to serve a more digital society, digital business, digital industry and digital Government, towards accelerating Digital Malaysia." Project PATROL was developed to provide early warning alerts on areas where TM infrastructure has a high risk of being destroyed due to civil and construction works by a third party. Ideally, before the civil or construction works were to begin, TM and other utility companies are to be consulted to ensure proper precautionary measures are taken to avoid telecommunication cable or other utility infrastructure cuts such as water or sewerage. The cable cuts will lead to loss of broadband and other telecommunication services which will cause major inconveniences to consumer lifestyle and businesses, as well as operation nightmare for any telcos. To fill in those gaps, PATROL was developed powered by digital and AI capabilities. PATROL leverages AI, object detection capabilities and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect a construction area using a dashcam. The system then automatically checks if the unregistered civil and construction activity is in close proximity to underground or overhead cable infrastructure. Several parameters are used to assess risk before an alert is sent to the Network Operations Centre for investigation. "PATROL provides real-time alerts on civil and construction activities that pose a high risk to the security and safety of TM's cable infrastructure. This information allows telco providers to act fast in preventing possible threats to their assets. With PATROL, we foresee a huge opportunity for operational cost avoidance due to cable cut cases," she further added. Established in 2001, TM R&D is the innovation arm for TM Group focusing on creating smarter ecosystems to make business and life easier for a better Malaysia. TM R&D's solutions are clustered around four (4) pillars namely Intelligent Platforms, Data Brokerage, Connectivity/Tools and IR4.0/Digital Solutions. Growing from strength to strength since 2016, TM R&D has won multiple global awards and generated more than 2,800 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and 1,400 digital assets to date. TM R&D's innovations are all developed in-house and cut across multiple verticals such as Utilities, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education with safety and productivity as the top priority. As TM R&D continues to expand beyond connectivity and into smarter digital ecosystems, its role in TM has become more prominent and exciting. For more information about TM R&D and its innovations, visit www.tmrnd.com.my or email your inquiry to business@tmrnd.com.my or follow them on LinkedIn (TM Research & Development) for more news and updates.
TM reports strong 3Q2020 performance amidst challenging environment
Encouraging QoQ revenue growth across all product lines 3Q2020 QoQ Key Financial and Operational Highlights (All comparisons refer to the second quarter of 2020 (Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) comparison), except as noted): Group Revenue grew 3.8% to RM2.69 billion from RM2.59 billion recorded in 2Q2020. Group Reported Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 7.0% QoQ to RM456.2 million, from RM426.3 million in 2Q2020. Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interests (PATAMI) rose 19.9% QoQ to RM329.5 million compared to RM274.7 million. The total capital expenditure (capex) for 3Q2020 stood at 14.9% of revenue or RM400.0 million. unifi: Continues convergence leadership with growth in broadband and mobile; highest convergence penetration of TM households at 58%. TM ONE: Strengthened position as the digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings. TM Wholesale: Continues to connect industry players, carriers, over-the-top (OTT) providers and content players in Malaysia and globally. Addressing the digital divide: Remain committed to increasing connectivity reach via Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) and accelerating the digital economy with recently announced Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) collaboration. Strong Business Performance for 3Q2020 Despite these unprecedented times, TM Group Revenue continues to increase QoQ recording a resilient 3.8% growth to RM2.69 billion from RM2.59 billion recorded in 2Q2020 on the back of higher revenue from voice, internet and data services. Group EBIT for 3Q2020 increased by 7.0% QoQ to RM456.2 million, from RM426.3 million in 2Q2020, on the back of lower operating cost, from the Group's continued momentum from its cost optimisation programmes. This subsequently led to a 19.9% increase in Group PATAMI from RM274.7 million in the preceding quarter to RM329.5 million. In 3Q2020, the company invested 14.9% of revenue in capex amounting to RM400.0 million - in line with guidance - as it continued to optimise its network and sweat its assets. Of the amount invested, 50% was for network access, 17% for core network, and the balance 33% for support system. Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM, commenting on the results: "We are pleased to report another quarter of growth across all key financial metrics – revenue and profits – despite the challenging environment in Q3. Our efforts in cost optimisation continue to yield results with a healthy EBIT and a strong PATAMI. As we enter the ninth month of the Covid-19 pandemic, our priority continues to be the safety and health of our 'Warga TM' while continuously delivering connectivity and solutions excellence to our broad customer base." "We are seeing unifi gaining momentum, posting a 6.3% growth to 1.65 million subscribers, with our total broadband customer base now at 2.26 million. We achieved the highest convergence penetration (of three services or more) in TM households since 2018, of 58%, as more Malaysians embrace digital living-working in this new norm. On the wholesale front, we continue to collaborate with industry players in Malaysia and globally. At TM ONE, we further cemented our leadership position as the digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with enterprise-grade connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings. We look forward to more collaborations with strategic partners and customers towards establishing a solid foundation for a more Digital Malaysia," Imri concluded. Operational Review: Maintaining Business Momentum TM delivered another quarter of robust performance, driven by its agility to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on Group businesses and operations; leveraging on new avenues for growth in the 'new normal' whilst adapting to challenges. unifi: Continues convergence leadership with growth in broadband and mobile Achieved the highest convergence penetration at 58% of TM households. unifi customer base grew 6.3% to 1.65 million; total broadband customer base grew 2% to 2.26 million during the quarter. Helped empower Small and Media Enterprises (SMEs) with relevant tools and knowledge to grow their businesses and embrace digitalisation with the launch of cari@unifi and eBiz Pack, unifi Business Club (uBC) collaboration with Lalamove and live webinars such as Reboot and Sembang Bisnes. Partnered with Funding Society Malaysia to provide business financing solutions for Micro SMEs (MSMEs) utilising Yellow Pages' digital platform. unifi Mobile extended access to the daily free 1GB Productivity Internet offer to 24 hours, until 31 December 2020, to support Malaysian's connectivity needs in Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO). TM ONE: Strengthened our position as digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings Scaled up the full capabilities of Cloud α (Cloud Alpha) suite of services with full data residency, locality and sovereignty. Appointed as the technology partner of the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) to develop and maintain the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 (e-Census) platform. Continue to support state governments and local city councils to establish future-ready smart cities and smart homes via its TM ONE Smart City Solution enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) and various smart solutions. TM Wholesale: Continues to connect industry players, carriers, over-the-top (OTT) providers and content players in Malaysia and globally Domestic Secured a new contract with a domestic mobile player for cross ocean connectivity, backhaul connectivity solutions and broadband access capacity upgrade. New backhaul connectivity deal with a domestic mobile player for new backhaul services. International Expansion of content delivery services with an Asian-based OTT player. Secured a deal with an Asian-based OTT player for connectivity solution within Asia Pacific, and two (2) new long term data connectivity deals with global carriers. Additional voice business deals with global service providers worldwide. TM Network remained stable throughout CMCO as a result of continuous network optimisation. This is despite traffic utilisation surging between 30% to 50% depending on peak hours, from March 2020 to November 2020 due to more Malaysians working from home. Supporting the nation's digital agenda and addressing the digital divide: Remain committed to increasing connectivity reach via JENDELA and accelerating the digital economy with the recently announced MDEC collaboration. Prospects for the Current Financial Year Ending 31 December 2020 Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Bank Negara Malaysia has revised Malaysia's annual gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to contract between 3.5% to 5.5%[1], against 4.3% growth in 2019. Uncertainty from the most recent wave of the pandemic from October onwards is expected to bring about further revision to these numbers. As the nation faces this adversity, relying even more on the internet and digital connectivity for work and studies, TM continues to serve as an essential service provider, ensuring stable network performance for the entire nation via both our retail and wholesale fronts. The Government's introduction of JENDELA in September 2020 as well as the RM7.4 billion allocations in the recent National Budget to deliver upgraded broadband services for year 2021 and 2022 will serve as a platform to accelerate Malaysia's digital connectivity through wider deployment of mobile, fibre and fixed wireless access. This will pave the way for 5G under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021–2025). TM is at the forefront in collaborating with other service providers, enabling and delivering JENDELA. We continue to seek opportunities to cater for future demands of connectivity, in line with our proven commitment to maintain business profitability whilst adapting to and exploring new norms and avenues from this dynamic circumstances that the nation faces today. [1] Sourced from Bank Negara Malaysia, 14 August 2020
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