KUALA LUMPUR. 15 July, 2010: Ericsson Malaysia, Telekom Malaysia Research & Development (TM R&D) and Multimedia University (MMU) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for:

• the collaboration in showcasing digital home solutions on MMU’s premises with TM R&D’s provision of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) connectivity, and

• the development of applications by MMU students and staff, with training provided by Ericsson, and assessment of commercial viability by Ericsson and TM R&D.

The MoU signing was witnessed by Datuk Dr Halim Shafie, Chairman of MMU and TM.

The scope of the collaboration under the terms of the MoU includes the design, implementation and maintenance of the various digital home solutions as well as the content and application developer programs for Ericsson IMS and Ericsson eStore. The IMS or IP Multimedia Subsystem is an open-standards based solution that enables the seamless integration and interoperability of various mobile and desktop applications over broadband.

An example of an IMS application is where consumers can watch content on IP-based TV while having a chat session with other viewers at the same time. Another example is what Ericsson refers to as “place shifting”, where a viewer of IP-based TV is able to watch his favourite program in one place and transfer it to another location or device.

Krishnakumar Guda, President of Ericsson Malaysia, said: “This is Ericsson Malaysia’s first such strategic alliance with TM R&D and MMU to provide a showcase of various IMS-based digital home applications, such as ‘place shifting’ and ‘time shifting’, allowing users to share content and media from their home system anytime, anywhere on their mobile devices. Secondly, MMU students and staff will have the opportunity to become IMS application developers and distribute on our Ericsson eStore, which provides the opportunity to market commercially viable applications to 2 billion potential customers worldwide,” he added.

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Ericsson and MMU on this IMS-based initiative, as it allows us to meaningfully explore and develop forefront technologies for the future, ” said Dr Shahruddin Muslimin, Chief Executive Officer of TM R&D. “We believe the join development of applications with MMU and the use of our IMS platform at TM R&D to test these applications, will help MMU develop a strong pool of talents in solution development and acquire the necessary industrial exposure.” He added that apart from working with MMU on new projects, TM R&D has also planned to port some of its unified communication and collaboration (UCC) solutions, such as IPv6-enabled Video Conferencing and uNme (you-and-me), security and surveillance, etc, to the IMS platform.”

Prof. Dr. Zaharin Yusoff, President of MMU said, “This is an excellent opportunity for the students and staff of MMU to venture into joint R&D work with Ericsson and TM R&D in digital home solution and IMS application development, and to obtain international recognition and even monetary benefits for their work via the Ericsson eStore! At MMU, we truly believe in encouraging our students to be innovators and to develop their talents, hence to be able to partner with Ericsson and TM R&D to provide training and open up global avenues will definitely help achieve our goal.”

“At Ericsson, we aim to innovate to empower people, business and society. As market leaders in telecommunications, we need to take the initiative to drive creativity and innovation in order for Malaysia to move into a high value, high income economy.

Ericsson has created similar initiatives in Sweden and around the world, working with the telecommunication service providers as well as universities to produce not only commercially-viable applications, but more importantly, empowering the next generation of innovators. We take that further by creating platforms such as the Ericsson eStore to create incentives for such innovations,” Guda added.

About Ericsson

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices. Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York. 

www.ericsson.com  
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress
www.facebook.com/technologyforgood
www.youtube.com/ericssonpress 

About TMR&D

TMR&D, being at the forefront for research and development activities in TM, plays a leading role for new network and leading edge technologies. This role is assumed through designing, fabrication and the state-of-the-art technologies for telecommunications industries. For further information, please visit www.tmrnd.com.my.

About MMU

Established in 1996, Multimedia University (MMU) is the first private Malaysian university. It was set up by Telekom Malaysia Berhad. Now in its 14th year, MMU is admired for its innovative approaches to education, offering courses in the areas of Creative Multimedia, Engineering, Information Technology, Management, Law, Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Finance, and Bio-Medical Sciences. Currently, MMU has a population of more than 21,000 students, 4,516 of which come from 79 countries. Furthermore, 22,840 graduates have been produced from MMU’s 10 convocations, and recent studies show that 96% of MMU graduates secure employment within six months of completing their studies.

www.mmu.edu.my

www.twitter.com/mmu2020

By Asia Pacific Correspondent : Rani Wemel
LTT Global Brands | 14 Jalan SS3/33, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor DE, Malaysia
T: 03-7877 7023 | F: 03-78777806 |
rani@LTTCOM.com / rani@techistan.com