AI Infrastructure / AI news for Malaysia
TM R&D's ANTRIX wins WITSA Global AI Award 2026
Telekom Malaysia's R&D arm took the WITSA Global AI Award for infrastructure with ANTRIX, an AI platform that has replaced the carrier's legacy trouble-ticketing system nationwide. The win is global recognition for a system already carrying real operational load.
In brief
- Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D) won the WITSA Global AI Award 2026 in the Infrastructure category for ANTRIX, its AI-driven autonomous network operations platform, on 1 September 2026 in Taipei.[1]
- ANTRIX was nominated by PIKOM and has replaced TM's legacy network trouble-ticketing system nationwide, handling more than 10,000 tickets a day.[2]
- Roughly 70% of network faults are now flagged and ticketed before a customer notices, with resolution times cut by about 90%, according to WITSA's award record.[2]
A Malaysian-built network AI platform won a global infrastructure award
Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), a subsidiary of Multimedia University, has won the WITSA Global AI Award 2026 in the Infrastructure category for ANTRIX, its AI-driven autonomous network operations platform. The award was presented on 1 September 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan, during the WITSA Global AI Summit 2026.[1]
Dr. Fazlina Mohd Ali, Head of Web and ANTRIX Product Owner at TM R&D, received the award from Dato' Dr. Sean Seah, Chairman of WITSA. Also present were Dr. Brian Shen, Chairman of TISSA and Vice Chairman (Asia-Pacific) of WITSA, and Mr. Robert Janssen, WITSA Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the WITSA AI Task Force.[1]
ANTRIX was developed by TM R&D in collaboration with Group Network Technology, TM, and was nominated by PIKOM, Malaysia's WITSA member association.[1][2]
What ANTRIX does on a live nationwide network
ANTRIX stands for Advanced Neural Telecommunication Resolution Interface and Exchange. It replaces TM's legacy network trouble-ticketing system and shifts network assurance from reactive, manual processes towards intelligent, data-driven and increasingly autonomous operations.[1]
The platform monitors network alerts, performance data and service indicators in real time to detect issues earlier, automatically generate trouble tickets, and support faster diagnosis and resolution. It also coordinates operational workflows, including restoration plans, work permits and change requests.[1]
The impact WITSA's award record quantifies
WITSA's official winners record goes further than the Malaysian announcement, putting numbers to the claim. ANTRIX handles more than 10,000 tickets a day, and roughly 70% of network faults are now flagged and ticketed before a customer notices.[2]
The same record says resolution times have been cut by about 90%. Those figures are the strongest evidence that the system is producing operational value rather than only automating a small slice of the workflow.[2]
What a global award does and does not prove
The WITSA Global AI Awards 2026 recognise AI champions across Infrastructure, Talent, Entrepreneurship, Use Cases, Data, Public Policy and Investment, with winners drawn from multiple economies through a national-then-global two-tier selection process. ANTRIX won alongside other infrastructure winners, which frames the award as peer recognition rather than a sole ranking.[2]
An award is not an independent audit. The 70% and 90% figures come from WITSA's award record, which is based on the submission; TM R&D has not published independently audited network-assurance metrics. Readers should treat the award as validated recognition of a live system while noting that the performance figures originate from the award submission.[2]
Why Malaysia should care
The award is a rare piece of international recognition for a Malaysian-built, production-grade AI system: ANTRIX is already running on Telekom Malaysia's nationwide network, so this is not a lab prototype or a demo, but infrastructure carrying live operations.
Telekom Malaysia customers
Earlier fault detection should mean fewer customer-visible outages, but TM has not published independently audited reliability data tied to ANTRIX.[1][2]
Practical move: Watch TM's service-quality reporting for a measurable uptime or fault-resolution trend.
Malaysian AI and telecom sector
The win is proof a Malaysian-built AI system can earn global recognition, which could help local vendors and agencies pitch internationally.[2]
Practical move: Track whether the award leads to export or licensing conversations for ANTRIX-style network AI.
Network operations teams
ANTRIX shows how ticket automation, restoration plans and change requests can be coordinated by one AI layer, a pattern other operators may adopt.[1]
Practical move: Compare ANTRIX's described workflows with your own NOC processes before treating it as a template.
What Malaysians can do now
- Treat the award as peer recognition of a live system, not as an independent audit of its performance claims.
- Ask TM R&D for independently audited network-assurance metrics to corroborate the 70% and 90% figures.
- Watch for whether ANTRIX is offered beyond Telekom Malaysia's network.
What we still do not know
The award leaves a few things unstated.
- Whether the 70% fault-detection and 90% resolution-time figures have been independently audited or reflect the award submission only.
- Whether TM R&D plans to offer ANTRIX to other operators or markets beyond Telekom Malaysia.
- The cost of developing and operating ANTRIX relative to the legacy system it replaced.
- How much of ANTRIX's operation is fully autonomous versus assisted by human operators.
Sources
- 1.TM R&D Celebrates Global Win for AI-Driven Network Innovation Multimedia University, 4 September 2026
- 2.Winners of the WITSA Global AI Awards 2026 Celebrated in Taipei WITSA, 1 September 2026
