In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review Asia Pacific at FutureNet Asia, Ken Tan, Chief Technology Officer of Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), shared insights into the organization’s vision for transforming Malaysia’s telecommunications infrastructure. He discussed how DNB aims to address the pressing challenges of sustainability in 5G and beyond, while also navigating the competitive landscape shaped by recent industry mergers.
What is Digital Nasional Berhad’s vision in terms of the future development of Malaysia’s telecommunications infrastructure?
One of the telcommunications industry’s challenges is to make sure 5G and beyond is sustainable. Globally, many telcos currently face diminishing margins. In Malaysia, there were six telcos in 2021, but two of the major ones have merged, leaving only five today.
With DNB being established to offer wholesale 5G network to operators, telcos can focus on their retail core businesses – in essence, DNB encourages competition amongst operators, who can now focus on innovating their solutions and serving their customers better.
Additionally, with DNB offering 5G wholesale network at one of the cheapest rates in the world, telcos can not only pass the savings to their consumer end-users, but they can also encourage innovation amongst their enterprise clients, enabling them to evolve from traditional brick-and-mortar businesses into digital enterprises, with new channels to reach their customers. Enterprises of all sizes, including medium, micro, and SOHO businesses can leverage connectivity to thrive and create new opportunities, while end-customers have access to a wider choice of services, at inexpensive prices. This is DNB's ambition.
How does Digital Nasional Berhad’s recent focus on 5G deployment align with its technology strategy?
When DNB started operating in 2021 as a single wholesale 5G network provider, it needed to ensure the network was world-class and always ahead of the technology curve to meet market requirements. From day one, cybersecurity was built in, and the entire organization operated based on data. This setup was designed to ensure security, allowing informed decision-making across the company.
With AI now available and data integrated from the outset, we can enable AI throughout our systems, as AI fundamentally requires data. It’s similar to a car needing oil; DNB has the data, which serves as the oil. With this data in place, we can start using AI to power DNB's operations, enhancing our efficiency and competitiveness. Much of the synergies we create are passed on to our customers (the operators), enabling them to preserve their margins and avoid the capital expenditures (CapEx) typically required for operations.
How do you address the challenges of scaling technology infrastructure for nationwide coverage?
This challenge is faced not just by DNB, but by many operators around the world. From day one, we ensured we selected the best technology partners through a rigorous tender process. This process included provisions for lifecycle upgrades and aimed to incorporate network convergence from the outset.
In the telecom network space, it's crucial to avoid mistakes, as any errors that result in network outages impact customers. Therefore, careful and methodical testing cycles are essential. However, in the IT world, things move very quickly. From day one, DNB established data and digital operations, ensuring everything was digital from the onset. This brings together the best of both worlds—networks and IT—providing the agility needed to run the network effectively.
For example, cycles for software that used to take up to six months to be put into production can now be completed in about four weeks. By implementing DevOps practices, where software is delivered end-to-end through continuous integration and continuous development, we can move rapidly. This approach was integrated into DNB from the beginning, ensuring it doesn’t just maintain the existing network but is also constantly upgrading itself to align with the latest 3GPP specifications.
Can you outline the key milestones in Digital Nasional Berhad’s roadmap for leveraging AI and network automation in its network infrastructure?
There’s no definite timeline we can commit to, but there is ambition. A lot of this involves incorporating new capabilities and technologies. When we started, many processes were manual. The fact that in three years we’ve achieved DNB’s level-three autonomous network status, according to the TM Forum, positions us well to aim for level four in the next three-to-five years. It won’t be a drastic leap; rather, it will involve many small steps to enable the entire organization to progress on this journey.
Now that DNB is more established, we need to start transforming existing processes, mindsets, and systems so we can incorporate AI. For example, in the early days when we had 500 base station sites, we had to manage over 300,000 network faults in a single day. Today, with over 7,000 base station sites, the number of faults has decreased to fewer than 1,000 per day, thanks to data and AI technologies.
Moving forward, we will focus on developing software using AI, enhancing network operations, and transforming the skill sets required to manage the network in the realms of data analytics and cybersecurity. Our goal is to deliver new capabilities that meet market requirements, as we continue our transformation journey over the next three-to-five years.
