Signing of collaboration agreement between TM and Aspen Group. From left to right: TM Executive Vice President, Enterprise Sales Wan Ahmad Kamal Wan Halim, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Giorgio Migliarina, Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Datuk Seri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Aspen Group Group Chairman and Executive Director Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff, Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk M.Murly, Director Oh Kim Sun

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and the Aspen Group have signed a collaboration agreement to facilitate the deployment of smart city services at the Aspen Vision City property development in Batu Kawan, Penang.

This collaboration will enable Aspen Vision City to become a business model for Smart City Services in the real estate development segment and this business model will be replicated to more property developments that will be enabled by TM in the future, TM said. At a press conference after the signing of the collaboration, TM’s chief technology and innovation officer Giorgio Migliarina said that this sort of collaborations will be replicated into other industries also not just limited to real estate development.

“We can do it for example in the retail industry where people can track for adjustments in their inventory. We are also looking at the banking and oil & gas sectors,” Migliarina said.

“Smart city is a cluster of services that will make use of the Internet of things (IoT) technology and the information communication and technology (ICT) services.

“ICT is a combination between IT and software communication infrastructure while IoT is the distribution into various appliances or building elements of sensors that measure specific parameters from the pressure or temperature in the room or whether it is time to buy groceries in the fridge,” he said.

He added that based on the inputs from the sensors, expert systems can make decisions like decreasing or increasing the power of the air conditioning in an area or sending out an alert to notify that the lights have been left on.

“With the availability of telecommunications and connectivity services, as well as ICT and IoT solutions integrated into local property developments and townships, we will be able to deliver an enhanced digital lifestyle to more Malaysians,” he said.

TM and Aspen said that they have not finalized the type of business model that will be used for this collaboration eventually.

“This is a collaboration to identify the right business model for us to know which services we want to work on. It could be a combination of an equity partnership or a more straightforward joint venture or a joint venture to provide those services. It may also be a hybrid of both,” Aspen’s group chief executive officer Datuk M. Murly said.

He added the aim was to transform Aspen Vision City into the first Smart City in the northern region of Malaysia.

TM will be collaborating with Aspen to offer various smart solutions and services to the residents of Aspen Vision City.

The services include security surveillance solutions, car sharing, digital signage, smart parking, energy, waste management etc.

Aspen Vision City is a property project by Aspen and Ikano Pte Ltd that spans across 245 acres in Batu Kawan, that is located at the landing point of the Second Penang Bridge.

Aspen Vision City will also house an IKEA Store and a regional integrated shopping centre, both managed by Ikano Pte Ltd.