• The project covers about 200km of fibre and is intended to raise the share of MICTH towers connected by fibre from about 40% to 80%
  • Maxis also plans to offer wholesale mobile backhaul on the upgraded infrastructure to other mobile network operators

The fact

Melaka ICT Holdings, or MICTH, has appointed Maxis as its Strategic Infrastructure Partner to fibre-connect 151 MICTH-owned telecom towers in Melaka. The towers will be migrated from microwave backhaul to high-capacity optical fibre under a programme involving about 200km of fibre and around RM30 million of investment.

The project is expected to run for seven years, with Maxis funding the fibre deployment while the state provides the tower infrastructure. Melaka expects the programme to increase the share of MICTH towers connected by fibre from about 40% to 80%. Maxis also said it will offer wholesale mobile backhaul over the upgraded infrastructure to other mobile network operators. The 151 sites have not all been converted; the rollout will take place in phases.

The assessment

The project changes the transport network behind an existing tower estate rather than adding new radio sites. Maxis has to build roughly 200km of fibre, connect 151 towers and move each site's backhaul from microwave to fibre as the programme progresses.

The wholesale element gives those connections a wider role. MICTH owns the towers, while Maxis is funding the fibre deployment and says other mobile operators will be able to buy backhaul services over it. If they do, the same fibre connection can carry traffic for more than one operator at a MICTH site.

For BTW readers, the useful measure is how many towers move onto live fibre backhaul and how many operators use those connections. Those figures will show whether the RM30 million programme is becoming shared mobile transport infrastructure rather than simply meeting an 80% fibre target.

What to watch

Watch for the number of towers connected each year, kilometres of fibre brought into service and the first wholesale backhaul customers among other mobile operators. With the programme expected to run for seven years, progress should be measured in completed site conversions rather than the final 151-tower target alone.