LANGKAWI, 14 JANUARY 2020 – Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) has partnered with Malaysia Airports and Panorama Langkawi to launch Malaysia’s first real-time virtual tourism experience, powered by 5G technology in Langkawi International Airport.
A cable car gondola and a virtual reality (VR) experiential zone set up at the Langkawi International Airport (IATA Code: LGK) allow visitors to enjoy a 360-degree view of Gunung Machinchang, live-streamed from 20 kilometres away via a camera mounted at the Langkawi SkyCab middle station, where the world’s steepest cable car ride takes one 708m above sea level.
With 5G’s ability to deliver superspeed and ultra-reliable low latency connectivity, visitors get to admire real-time, ultra-high definition views with no lag or delay. This 5G virtual tourism experience, which is open to the public until March 2020, is projected to provide a new immersive and integrated travel experience for tourists and further the tourism industry in the nation.
This showcase is part of Digi’s use case in the 5G Demonstration Projects (5GDP), undertaken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to facilitate, develop and foster 5G use cases in a live but controlled environment.
Digi Chief Executive Officer, Albern Murty highlights that the Langkawi 5G virtual tourism pilot is in line with Digi’s collaborative approach in building 5G ecosystem alongside partners, as well as corresponds with Visit Malaysia 2020.
“We are excited at the possibilities of 5G bringing next-gen virtual tourism to many other local destinations and connect more people to experiences that matter most to them. In partnership with Malaysia Airports and Panorama, we are pleased to bring a piece of Langkawi’s heritage to tourists from the moment they arrive at the airport. This is just the start –we are continuously learning and improving our use cases with our partners, and studying the commercial feasibility and scalability as we progress during this 5GDP trial period,” Albern adds.
Malaysia is targeting 30 million tourist arrivals and RM100 billion in tourist receipts for 20201. Armed with the slogan “Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020”, the campaign promises colourful celebrations with an impressive line-up of special and exciting events throughout the year.
Malaysia Airports acting group chief executive officer Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Sallehsaid,“Our aim was to enhance the airport experience by providing guests with a virtual experience of local tourist attractions at the airport itself. It is part of our Experience Malaysia initiative that we have embarked on at the airport in supporting VM2020.”
He added further that last year, LGK received the “Highly Commended” recognition in the ‘Under 4 million passengers’ category at the prestigious Routes Asia 2019 Marketing Awards. The award was a testament to the airport operator’s efforts in strengthening LGK’s marketability and presence on the tourism map, as well as act as a larger catalyst to the island’s economic development.
Ir. Abu Hashim Abdul Rahman, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Panorama Langkawi said, “The Langkawi SkyCab is an iconic landmark of Langkawi. Located within the Langkawi UNESCO Global Geopark, we are excited to be able to showcase the gem of Langkawi, such as Gunung Machincang where the SkyCab is located, to both local and foreign tourists arriving at LGK. We believe that 5G has the potential to deliver new and engaging digital activities that can improve tourist experiences and enhance the appeal of Langkawi and Malaysia among the eyes of foreign tourists.”
Digi’s 5G live site at the Langkawi International Airport is the first of two on the island, with the second located at the Langkawi Hospital. The 5G mobile base station located near the LGK terminal operates on a spectrum of 3.4-3.5GHz (C-band) of 100MHz bandwidth with a speed of 1.2Gbps.
Digi is also continuously facilitating 5G use case tests at its 5G OpenLab space in Cyberjaya, which serves as an incubator space for businesses, academics and developers. The OpenLab aims to support the research and development of 5G across different verticals and identify the most viable use cases that can benefit our society.
For more information, visit digi.my.