KUALA LUMPUR — Open DC Sdn Bhd is positioning Malaysia’s northern corridor as a strategic gateway for artificial intelligence (AI)-ready infrastructure and regional data traffic as ASEAN’s digital economy drives demand for faster and more resilient interconnection infrastructure.
Founded in 2015, Open DC is a data centre solutions provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of Extreme Broadband Sdn Bhd, an internet service provider licensed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Open DC currently operates six data centres nationwide, offering more than 360,000 square feet of data centre space and over 80 megawatts of power capacity.
Open DC founder/managing director Wong Weng Yew said the company’s focus for the second half of 2026 is centred on advancing the northern region as a platform for digital infrastructure growth and regional interconnection.
“As we move into the second half of 2026, Open DC’s focus is on advancing the northern region as a regional platform for digital infrastructure growth. Our presence in PE2 in Bayan Lepas and D8-1 in Delapan is a testament to our commitment to the nation’s AI agenda.
“What gives us an added advantage is that Open DC is not approaching this purely as a real estate or facility play, but through AI-ready infrastructure, strategic border location, carrier neutrality and an interconnection-led approach backed by strong network heritage,” he told Bernama in an interview recently.
In April 2022, Open DC partnered with Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Inc, to develop a Tier 3 data centre in the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone at Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, along the Malaysia-Thailand border.
The project has since been completed after initially being targeted for completion in the second quarter of this year.
Wong said Open DC’s locations near both the Singapore corridor and the Thailand border position Malaysia as a strategic interconnection bridge within ASEAN, enabling regional traffic, content and digital services to move more efficiently across markets.
He said AI-ready infrastructure increasingly depends on network density, proximity and seamless data exchange capabilities across multiple ecosystems.
Wong said the company’s D8-1 facility strengthens the Indochina-Malaysia-Singapore digital trade corridor by improving latency, lowering transit costs and enhancing route resilience across the region.
The facility also reduces unnecessary backhaul through more direct peering and shorter routing paths, while strengthening route density and redundancy across the northern corridor, he said.
He added that the proximity of the Songkhla and Satun cable landing stations further enhances connectivity efficiency, while D8-1’s location, about five kilometres from the Sadao border crossing, places it close to one of Thailand’s busiest trade gateways.
Wong said Open DC’s carrier-neutral ecosystem and the DE-CIX (Deutscher Commercial Internet Exchange) Malaysia peering model enable multiple networks, cloud providers and enterprises to interconnect directly through a single exchange point, improving route efficiency and lowering latency.
Participants gain access to more than 142 active Autonomous System Numbers in Malaysia, as well as wider global connectivity through DE-CIX’s ecosystem, he said.
“These combinations put us in a unique position to help the north compete more meaningfully for regional cloud, content and enterprise demand, not just as a location with available space, but as a location with real digital relevance,” he added.
Wong said the company is also exploring plans for a pre-initial public offering, although the roadmap remains premature for public disclosure.
Meanwhile, FSG Advisory Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Anthony Dass said Malaysia remains well-positioned for digital infrastructure expansion, although power availability, water supply and infrastructure delivery timelines are becoming increasingly important considerations for investors.
He said Johor and the Klang Valley have emerged as major digital infrastructure clusters, but the northern corridor presents opportunities to deepen Malaysia’s regional connectivity footprint beyond its traditional hubs.
“Connectivity depth transforms Malaysia from a cost-driven alternative into a credible regional platform. Johor illustrates this clearly: it combines proximity to Singapore with improving infrastructure depth, allowing it to function as an extension of a primary hub rather than a peripheral market,” he added.
Dass said Malaysia’s long-term competitiveness will increasingly depend on disciplined infrastructure execution, particularly as the country competes with more established regional hubs such as Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.
He added that the market would increasingly favour projects that are scalable, resource-efficient and aligned with long-term infrastructure realities. — BERNAMA