CelcomDigi Berhad (“CelcomDigi”) today announced the completion of a large-scale connectivity and tower infrastructure deployment across IOI Corporation Berhad’s (“IOI”) plantation estates in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. This initiative supports IOI’s digital transformation and growth across its plantation operations, while extending reliable coverage to surrounding rural communities.

Widespread connectivity to drive automation across plantation operations

CelcomDigi has deployed over 100 4G and 4G LTE network sites across more than 100 IOI estates nationwide with high-speed connectivity, and has also laid dedicated Direct Internet Access (DIA) for estate offices within the vicinity. This end-to-end solution accelerates IOI’s digitalisation of core activities, including automation to streamline mill operations, mobile workforce applications, IoT-driven asset and fleet management, and future data-led use cases essential to modern plantation management.

With high-speed next-gen connectivity across the estates, IOI can progressively integrate intelligent systems and automate processes to improve productivity, operational visibility, and safety. 

Extending Connectivity to Rural Communities

Beyond powering IOI’s digital transformation, the widespread connectivity also extends to surrounding rural communities, improving access to education, healthcare, and essential digital services. By strengthening digital inclusion, this reliable connectivity creates pathways for inclusive growth and supports broader socioeconomic progress, ensuring more communities can participate in Malaysia’s digital economy.

In agriculture, estate-wide connectivity is a crucial first step in modernising operations, powering organisations to integrate systems and data to create data-driven workflows that can scale efficiently, productively, and sustainably.

Ts. Afizulazha Abdullah, Chief Enterprise Business Officer of CelcomDigi, said, “For the plantation sector, we see that businesses with consistent, estate-wide connectivity achieve measurable improvements in operational efficiency and digital adoption. Early adopters report higher productivity and faster progress toward revenue goals, particularly through connected operations. IOI now has the digital foundation to scale automation and intelligent systems across its plantations and mills. This is how we power the next phase of growth—building networks that deliver operational gains, support sustainable practices, and strengthen surrounding communities.”

Commenting on the partnership, IOI Plantation Director Mr NB Sudhakaran said, “IOI’s ambition is to transform our plantations into integrated, connected operations that can compete on productivity and sustainability over the long term. Partnering with CelcomDigi aligns with this ambition as they bring the network capability and a shared commitment to solving practical challenges on the ground. By leveraging this widespread connectivity as the foundation for integrated digital operations, we aim to scale automation, implement smart fleet and asset management, and strengthen data‑led decision‑making.”

This collaboration with IOI reflects CelcomDigi’s commitment to transform Malaysia into a 5G digital society by providing Malaysian enterprises with the digital foundations needed for growth. This initiative is part of CelcomDigi Business’ ambition to digitalise businesses and industries with next-gen connectivity and digital solutions, enabling them to compete and thrive in Malaysia’s digital economy.