YTL launches MOCN site as part of govt plan to improve road coverage

Details: John Tanner; Category: Wireless Networks; 03 July 2025; 2728 views

Malaysian telco YTL Communications launched a fully operational multi-operator core network (MOCN) 4G base station site in Penang on Tuesday as part of Malaysian government initiatives to share infrastructure and provide 100% mobile coverage of roads.

ZTE supplied the radio equipment for the site in Gertak Sanggul, a suburb of George Town, while Konsortium Jaringan Selangor (KJS) collaborated with YTL as the infrastructure provider.

YTL said KJS obtained the necessary permits and deployed the site within one month, despite the numerous environmental challenges of putting up a base station site by the coast, including weather, unstable sandy soil and corrosion risks from salty air.

YTL said the MOCN site provides seamless coverage across the George Town coastal corridor and its surrounding communities, which benefits over 500 residents and 350 daily commuters along the road, including nearby fishing villages and underserved communities.

“By using Yes network equipment and spectrum to host all of Malaysia’s major mobile telcos, we have proven this advanced network infrastructure sharing approach can indeed be used nationwide to improve coverage for the benefit of the Rakyat,” said YTL Communications CEO Wing K. Lee.

This project was spearheaded by YTL under the Malaysian government’s “Di Mana Ada Jalan, Di Situ Ada Internet” (Where There’s A Road, There’s Internet) initiative, which is part of the Network Infrastructure Sharing Framework (NISF) launched by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil in January 2025 under which telcos are mandated to deploy a '6-Way 4G MOCN'.

Attending the site launch ceremony, Fahmi said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will collaborate with the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to identify nearly 50 kilometres of road nationwide that currently have no mobile coverage.

“There are several key locations currently under discussion, and my hope is that these can be included in Phase Two of the National Digital Network Plan (JENDELA), as many of these areas will likely require new tower construction,” Fhami said, according to the official Bernama news agency.