Malaysia’s mobile data service company U Mobile has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation Berhad (SDEC), the implementing agency driving Sarawak digital economy initiatives for the East Malaysian state that is home to an estimated 2.5 million people.

The aim of the MoU is to establish a strategic partnership aimed at realising the ambitions of the Sarawak Digital Economy Blueprint 2030, which envisions a robust digital economy as well as an inclusive digital society for the state by 2030.

To achieve this, says U Mobile, it will work with SDEC on initiatives that accelerate digital transformation for SMEs in Sarawak, as well as initiatives that narrow the digital divide for those in underserved areas.

Through this partnership, U Mobile and SDEC will collaborate to drive the adoption of 5G technologies and solutions in Sarawak’s SMEs. This includes providing 5G network connectivity, educational programmes, devices and innovative use case solutions to empower local businesses and enhance their competitiveness in the digital economy.

Additionally, following the success of a small cell proof of concept (POC) in providing coverage to a longhouse (a large communal village house) in Long Lawen, Sarawak, U Mobile and SDEC will collaborate to further narrow the digital divide by exploring similar solutions to provide connectivity to rural and underserved areas.

Beyond this MoU, both parties say they are also currently collaborating on the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication 600 (SMART600) project, where U Mobile’s 4G coverage will be made available to serve rural communities in Sarawak through multi-operator core network (MOCN) technology.

We reported on Wednesday that U Mobile announced had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CIMB Bank to extend financing support for its upcoming 5G network rollout.

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UAE-based satellite firm Space42 said on Wednesday it has successfully deployed the second of its Foresight earth observation LEO satellites in partnership with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation operator ICEYE.

The Foresight-2 satellite, supplied by ICEYE, was launched on Tuesday aboard the Transporter-12 Rideshare mission with SpaceX. The satellite has established communication, and early routine operations are underway, Space42 said. The launch also included four satellites for ICEYE’s own constellation.

The Foresight-2 satellite joins Foresight-1, which was launched in August 2024 by Bayanat and Yahsat prior to the finalisation of their merger as Space42. With Foresight-2 now in orbit, Space42 said the second phase of the SAR constellation will boost its geospatial insights and capabilities with increased speed and precision.

The Foresight satellites use an SAR active sensing system to produce high-fidelity images of the Earth’s surface around the clock, regardless of weather conditions or solar illumination, at the highest resolution in the industry for small satellites. According to Space42, this allows smaller objects and minute surface changes to be tracked from space, which can address critical challenges such as disaster mitigation, maritime surveillance, and urban mobility.

Space42 MD Karim Michel Sabbagh added that Foresight constellation will support the UAE’s Earth Observation (EO) Space Program, which was created in 2023 to build up the country’s satellite remote sensing and EO capabilities.

“With cutting-edge technology, this spacecraft enhances our capacity to deliver precise, real-time geospatial insights, advancing the UAE’s earth observation capabilities,” he said in a statement.

The launch of Foresight-2 comes a month after ICEYE and Space42 announced a JV to manufacture SAR satellites in the UAE.

Space42 plans to complete the Foresight SAR constellation by 2027.

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Indian space data company Pixxel says it is about to launch three of its six hyperspectral imaging satellites in a first for the private satellite market.

The satellites, part of the first network of its type in India’s private space sector, will take off aboard a SpaceX rocket from California today. The other three satellites are due to be deployed in the second quarter of 2025.

Reuters says that Pixxel’s founder and chief executive Awais Ahmed told the news service that it plans to add 18 more spacecraft to the six it has already developed.

Pixxel is a space data company, backed by Google, building a constellation of hyperspectral earth imaging satellites and the analytical tools to mine insights from that data. The constellation is designed to provide global coverage every 24 hours, with the aim of detecting, monitoring and predicting global phenomena. 

Pixxel aims to use hyperspectral imaging – a technology that captures highly detailed data across hundreds of light bands – to serve a number of industries.

Its satellites can apparently deliver insights to improve crop yields, track resources, and monitor oil spills and country borders in much better detail than current technology allows.

The satellite imaging market is projected to reach US$19 billion by 2029. Pixxel hopes hyperspectral imaging could claim US$500 million to US$1 billion of this, plus additional revenue from analysis.

The company can already boast about 65 clients, some of which are paying for data from its demonstration satellites. Contracts are also in place for future data from the Firefly constellation, as it is known.

The global commercial space market is a very competitive market already, and one in which India holds only a 2% share. The hope, however, is that private players can increase this share.

As Reuters points out, Pixxel hopes to overcome these challenges with its Firefly constellation, which boasts a five-metre resolution and a 40-kilometre swathe, more, apparently, than many competitors.

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Malaysian telco U Mobile is reportedly set to deploy between 5,000 and 7,000 5G sites across the country as it prepares to take on the role of the country’s second 5G operator, and is likely to collaborate with other telcos in the process.

U Mobile hasn’t yet officially revealed its roll-out plan, but according to a report from The Edge Malaysia on Friday, RHB Research – citing industry sources – said that U Mobile is planning to upgrade existing 4G sites and install new 5G sites to roll out its network.

RHB also said it expects U Mobile to team up with other operators and share infrastructure, which would not only speed up site deployments, but also save anywhere from RM3 billion (US$665.3 million) to RM4 billion in capex.

Before it received the nod from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) last November to become the country’s second 5G operator to take on Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), U Mobile signed a deal with rival telco CelcomDigi in February 2024 to share 100 multi-operator core network sites, as well as collaborate on developing use cases for 5G-Advanced (5G-A). In July 2024, U Mobile also established a strategic 5G backhaul partnership with Time dotCom.

U Mobile also spent July forming strategic partnerships with eight state-backed network facility provider companies (SBCs) from the PPIT Consortium to streamline the 5G rollout process. U Mobile also signed a similar deal with Axiata-owned Edotco that month.

RHB noted that U Mobile will likely fund all this via a mix of vendor financing, deferred payment options, and debt funding. U Mobile announced in late July last year that it has signed an MoU with AmBank Group, who will provide financing solutions to cover the cost of rolling out the second 5G network.

One of the controversies over awarding the second 5G network to U Mobile was how a relatively smaller telco would be able to cover the rollout cost. In November, according to a separate Edge Malaysia report, CIMB Securities said in a research note that U Mobile would need to invest up to MYR3 billion over 18–24 months to cover 80% of the population, and MYR1 billion a year after that, which is higher than U Mobile’s average capitalised capex of MYR500 million per annum between FY2014 to FY2023.

U Mobile responded that it has “robust financial backing from its shareholders, financial institutions such as UOB, CIMB and AmBank, as well as strategic vendor partners who enable the telco to continuously innovate to stay competitive and to meet network deployment targets.”

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