Digi to broaden 5G real-time virtual tourism experience in Langkawi

Digi Telecommunications is in talks with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to bring its 5G virtual tourism experience to potential tourist attractions on the island.

Its head of network strategy, Cham Yin Gee told Bernama that there were many tourist attractions in Langkawi that could be explored such as the eagle feeding areas at Kilim Geopark and Telaga Tujuh Waterfall.

“With this technology, visitors, especially foreign tourists can get a taste and glimpse of what they can see and experience at the attraction spots and choose where to go afterwards,” he said when met at the Langkawi International Airport (LGK), Kedah, today.

Digi has partnered with Malaysia Airports and Panorama Langkawi to launch Malaysia’s first real-time 5G virtual tourism experience in the airport.

A cable car gondola and a virtual reality experiential zone set up at the LGK allow visitors to enjoy the next-generation virtual tourism via a 360-degree view of Gunung Machinchang, live-streamed from 20km away through cameras mounted at the Langkawi SkyCab middle station, where the world’s steepest cable car ride takes one 708m above sea level.

This showcase is part of Digi’s use case in the 5G Demonstration Projects (5GDPs) undertaken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to facilitate, develop and foster 5G use cases in a live but controlled environment.

Cham said visitors can also check out real-time weather conditions at different tourist places with the technology.

“There will be 5GDPs in Penang and we definitely will bring our virtual tourism technology there,’’ he said.

Kedah and Penang are two among the six states chosen as demonstration sites to test how the ultra-fast communications network can be applied in manufacturing, tourism and smart city applications.

The other states are Perak, Terengganu, Selangor, and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled tomorrow to officiate the 5GDPs in Langkawi, involving 11 live demonstrations of use cases at the Langkawi 5G Command Centre, Hospital Sultanah Maliha and the LGK.

Among the telecommunication companies taking part in the demonstration projects are Telekom Malaysia, Celcom Axiata, Maxis, U Mobile and Edotco Malaysia.

- Bernama