Digi's target for 2017 is to become stronger, wider and better with 4G Plus and LTE-A

(L-R) Low Hui Qi, Chief Network Officer Apprentice; Sivakumar Nagaretnam, Head of Network Planning; Kesavan Sivabalan, Chief Network Officer; and Cheong Chen Hoong, Head of Radio Access Planning, Network Planning

Today, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd gave their presentation on their on-going 4G LTE network project. So far, they have reported to have covered up to 85% of Malaysia’s population in 275 cities and towns at the end of 2016, and at the same time, they also expanded its faster LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network coverage at 41% in 61 cities and towns.

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Network Performance Report 2016, Digi’s 4G LTE network is one of the best network in Malaysia by having the lowest latency and high responsiveness when surfing the internet, streaming videos or gaming. This is not just in the heart of KL, but same goes to Sabah, Sarawak, Northen and Southern regions as well.

During the presentation, Digi’s Chief Network Officer (CNO) Kesavan Sivabalan said: “We are not obsessed with speed. Two years ago when we started rolling out our 4G LTE network, we were already fast enough to provide a high speed internet experience for our customers to do everything from messaging and social media to streaming video content. Instead, we are more focused on building network performance to provide a better and consistent experience with very little lag or buffering,” Kesavan said.

(L-R) A Q&A session with Sivakumar Nagaretnam, Cheong Chen Hoong, and Kesavan Sivabalan

“However, for customers who want higher internet speeds, we also been overlaying our network and today offer the widest LTE-A in the country which potentially doubles our internet speed when using LTE-A capable devices,” he added. Since early 2016, many newly launched devices are LTE-A capable.

While on the topic, Digi customers are also in for a treat as Digi now offers Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) at all its 4G LTE sites which offers high definition voice calls and faster call connection. In the pipeline is Voice-over-WiFi technology which will be launched soon. To add on to that, the telco is also already preparing to activate its 900MHz spectrum coverage nationwide, which will be activated in July.

“Our network has been reliant on our 1800MHz and 2600MHz spectrums which come with lower coverage area and less ideal indoor coverage. Our new 900MHz spectrum gives many advantages. For indoor coverage, customers will see much stronger signal and because it has a wider coverage area, customers will also see improvements outdoors. In addition, when layered with our 1800MHz and 2600MHz spectrums, customers will experience better network capacity to stream their favourite videos and play games which makes Digi the Network Built for Entertainment’,” Kesavan added.

For more information and a current map of Digi’s 4G LTE and LTE-A coverage area, visit digi.my/4GLTE.