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Malaysia to end 5G monopoly, allow second network from next year

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Malaysia has said it will adopt a dual network model for its 5G rollout next year following widespread concerns about pricing and competition over a single state-run network.

The decision is the latest by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s six-month-old administration aimed at dismantling monopolies and promoting competition, though it could create tension with Western countries that wanted Malaysia to stick with its original plan.

Malaysia had in 2021 unveiled a plan for a state-owned agency, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), to own the full 5G spectrum, with various carriers using the infrastructure to provide mobile services.

Malaysia has now decided to allow a second entity after DNB’s coverage reaches 80% of populated areas, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a statement.

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“This model also takes into account the sustainability of the telecommunications industry ecosystem in Malaysia thus ending the monopoly element that is often associated with DNB,” Fahmi said.

DNB has achieved 57.8% coverage of populated areas and is on track to reach 80% by the end of the year, he said.

The government’s announcement confirmed a report by Reuters last month on a plan to introduce a second 5G network from January 2024.

The single-ownership plan had been met with industry concern over pricing, transparency and monopoly. A recommendation by major carriers for a second 5G provider was rejected by the previous government in March last year.

The plan came under renewed scrutiny after Anwar announced a review after taking office in November, saying it was not formulated transparently by the previous administration.

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DNB rejected that assertion.

It has said a single network would reduce costs, improve efficiency and accelerate the building of infrastructure.

It was not clear how the proposal for a second 5G network would affect DNB’s existing agreements with its development partner, Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson (ERICb.ST), and other mobile operators.

On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that the European Union and the U.S. had warned Malaysia of risks to national security and foreign investment amidst efforts by China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to bid for a role in its telecoms infrastructure.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

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Fahmi told a press conference he would meet interested diplomats to discuss the issue, and Malaysia would be “neutral” in commercial considerations.

“As a sovereign country, Malaysia has the right and power to set our own policies without the interference of other parties,” Fahmi said.

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Apple CEO says looking into possibility of building manufacturing facility in Indonesia

Apple CEO says looking into possibility of building manufacturing facility in Indonesia

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Apple CEO says looking into possibility of building manufacturing facility in Indonesia

Apple Inc will look into the possibility of building a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, its CEO said on Wednesday after meeting President Joko Widodo.

Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday, after visiting Vietnam. He met with Jokowi, as the president popularly known, and will be inaugurating an academy for Apple developers on the island of Bali.

“We talked about the president’s desire to see manufacturing in the country, and it is something that we will look at,” Cook told reporters after the meeting. 

Apple has based much of its key manufacturing of iPads, AirPods and Apple Watches in Vietnam and suppliers for MacBooks are also investing in the country.

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Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia but has established four Apple Developer Academies.

Indonesia has a huge tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.

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TikTok quizzed by EU on TikTok Lite launch in France, Spain

TikTok quizzed by EU on TikTok Lite launch in France, Spain

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TikTok quizzed by EU on TikTok Lite launch in France, Spain

ByteDance’s TikTok has been given 24 hours to provide a risk assessment on its new app TikTok Lite launched this month in France and Spain on concerns of its potential impact on children and users’ mental health, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The move by EU industry chief Thierry Breton under EU tech rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) comes two months after he opened an investigation into TikTok over possible DSA breaches. 

The landmark DSA requires companies to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms, with fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover for violations.

The Commission on Wednesday said it had sent a request for information to TikTok, asking for more details on the risk assessment the social media company should have done before deploying TikTok Lite in the 27-country European Union.

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“This concerns the potential impact of the new ‘Task and Reward Lite’ programme on the protection of minors, as well as on the mental health of users, in particular in relation to the potential stimulation of addictive behaviour,” the EU executive said in a document seen by Reuters.

“TikTok must provide the risk assessment for TikTok Lite in 24 hours and the other requested information by 26 April 2024, after which the Commission will analyse TikTok’s reply, and then assess next steps.”

The Commission also asked for details on measures the company has put in place to mitigate systemic risks.

TikTok Lite, an app with a new functionality aimed at users aged 18+, was launched in France and Spain this month.

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SiTime introduces chip aimed at saving power in AI data centers

SiTime introduces chip aimed at saving power in AI data centers

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SiTime introduces chip aimed at saving power in AI data centers

SiTime (SITM.O) on Wednesday introduced a chip that it says is designed to help data centers built for artificial intelligence applications run more efficiently.

SiTime makes what are known as timing chips, whose job is set a steady beat for all the parts of a computer and keep them running together in sync, like a conductor in an orchestra directing multiple groups of instruments. The company says its new line of chips, called Chorus, can do so with 10 times more precision than older styles of timing chips.

SiTime CEO Rajesh Vashist said the company aims to help customers save electricity with that precision. SiTime’s chips themselves require less than a watt of power, but powerful AI chips such as Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) require more than 1,000 watts of power.

With a more precise clock to keep all the elements of a computer in sync, parts of the machine can be turned off for a few milliseconds at a time when they are not in use. Over the multiple years a power-hungry data center server might be in use, it can generate energy savings, though the amount will depend on how SiTime’s chips are used.

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“We deliver timing that they can rely on so that they can wake up their products and bring data more efficiently to them, rather than just running more often,” Vashist said in an interview.

SiTime said the chips will be available in the second half of this year.

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