Afizulazha Abdullah (Celcom) and Sanjay Kaul (Cisco)
Celcom Axiata and Cisco have joined forces to bolster mobility connectivity levels in Malaysia through the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.
The updates centre around the converged software-defined network (SDN) transport infrastructure deployed in 2019 with the aim of “significantly improving” service provisioning time for “business of all sizes as well as consumers”.
At the height of the pandemic and Movement Control Order in 2020, Celcom’s adoption of Cisco’s SDN transport infrastructure leveraged automated IP parameter verifications to reduce human errors and mitigate the risks of network service disruption.
The SDN transport network can enable fixed and mobile connectivity services for consumers and businesses through combining real-time experiences, including Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.
“We at Celcom continue to strive to be the most reliable and most trusted network service provider for all Malaysians, with the widest coverage and consistent performance,” said Afizulazha Abdullah, COO of Celcom.
“With over 14 million users on our network and the rapid growth in data traffic, we are always innovating our services with the latest technology. Our continuous collaboration with Cisco is another innovative milestone that enables us to deliver enhanced digital and network services to our customers.”
Built with end-to-end segment routing enabled IP network -- billed as one of the first deployments in Malaysia -- Cisco provides a “unified, policy-aware” network architecture with integration between the transport and the data centre domains.
Segment routing also aims to provide the network with the most “cost-effective, end-to-end network slicing and low latency capabilities”, future proofing Celcom’s network in the process.
“Together with Celcom, we have delivered a 5G-ready transport network with a cross-domain orchestrator for IP and optical layer that is designed to exceed all consumer and business customer needs,” added Sanjay Kaul, president of Service Provider Business across Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) at Cisco. “Our focus is to ensure that Celcom has a strong foundation from which to grow revenues, reduce costs and mitigate risk.”
According to Kaul, Celcom is now “well-positioned” to optimise operational investments with this network simplification, collapsing redundant layers, removing legacy technologies and overlapping functionalities, resulting into CAPEX efficiencies.
