U Mobile, Malaysia’s future second 5G network provider, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Unicom Operations (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (CUMY), a trusted partner providing comprehensive global digital information services. This strategic collaboration aims to driveinnovation in Internet of Things (IoT), smart mobility, and sustainable technology solutions to accelerate adoption by businesses and large enterprises in Malaysia.
Through this strategic partnership, U Mobile and CUMY will leverage respective strengths to innovate enterprise solutions with initiatives focused on Internet of Vehicles (IOV), integrating IoT ecosystems into transport and urban infrastructure to shape the future of smart cities. U Mobile and CUMY will also co-develop end-to-end digital solutions tailored for key industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and oil & gas, ensuring seamless connectivity to optimise operational efficiency.
With China-Malaysia bilateral trade reaching nearly US$98 billion between January to November 2024, matching the total trade volume for all of 2023, this collaboration also aims to strengthen economic ties by enhancing experience of China businesses in Malaysia. U Mobile and CUMY will develop a seamless dual-SIM number service tailored for China customers and businesses operating in Malaysia, and vice versa. Both parties will also explore wholesale data services such as dedicated APN (Access Point Name) solutions and customised data pooling, as well as provision of 5G private networks for enterprises.
Knowledge transfer and sharing also forms a key component of this partnership. Under this MoU, U Mobile and CUMY will work together to establish forums and technical exchanges on IoT applications, share best practices for solutions in AI, AR/VR, big data as well as on integrating sustainability principles into technology and connectivity initiatives.
“As Malaysia’s future second 5G network provider, U Mobile is committed to support the country’s ambitions of becoming a high-income digital nation. This partnership with China Unicom Operations (Malaysia) will be a key enabler of this goal by accelerating digital transformation for enterprises and improving the connectivity experiences of China businesses in Malaysia, creating a robustenvironment to attract further investment into the country,” said Neil Tomkinson, Chief Information Officer of U Mobile.
“CUMY is honored to establish this important partnership with U Mobile. By combining our extensive experience in 5G, IoT, and AI across various industries with U Mobile’s local 5G development strategy, I believe we will jointly drive the digital transformation of Malaysian enterprises and provide superior connectivity services to facilitate collaboration and exchanges between China and Malaysia. We look forward to this partnership further strengthening Malaysia’s digital economy.” said Li Zehui, General Manager of CUMY.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Neil Tomkinson and Li Zehui at the Malaysian Pavilion during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. The signing was witnessed by Teo Nie Ching, Deputy Minister for Communications of Malaysia and Dato’ Sri Dr. Chee Hong Leong, Commission Member of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
