The Malaysian authorities had said that the country would shift to a dual 5G network once DNB achieved 80% coverage in populated areas
Malaysian telcos aiming to bid for the country’s dual 5G network need to finalize the share subscription agreements (SSA) with state-run 5G network Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) within the next 20 days, local press reported, citing the country’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He also noted that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will soon announce the tender process for the deployment of Malaysia’s second 5G network.
“The Cabinet was informed that the meeting between the telcos was held on May 20 and they were given 20 days to decide their equity share in DNB within that period,” he added.
Malaysian authorities had said that the country would shift to a dual 5G network once DNB achieved 80% coverage in populated areas, something that occurred in December 2023. That month, Malaysia’s five major mobile operators signed share subscription agreements to acquire a collective 70% equity stake in DNB.
Under the terms of the agreement, local carriers CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Power International agreed to each buy a 14% stake in DNB, with an investment of about $50 million each. Those share subscriptions were expected to be completed between February and April 2024 after due diligence requirements are met, according to the Malaysian government.
Fadzil noted that the operators need to complete the SSAs before they are allowed to bid for the deployment of the second 5G network.
As of the end of April, DNB’s 5G network had reached 81.5% of the total populated areas and the adoption rate was 39.2%. The country reached a total of 13.2 million 5G subscriptions nationwide as of the end of last month. Of the total number of 5G subscriptions, there are 12.7 million individual users and 422,609 enterprises.
DNB was set up by the Malaysian government in 2021 as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network infrastructure, which private telecommunications firms are currently using to offer 5G services to their customers. DNB’s 5G network was deployed by Ericsson.
In May 2023, the Malaysian government announced it will enable the deployment of a second 5G network in 2024, adding that a new entity will be created to manage Malaysia’s second 5G network. At the time, the country’s communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the decision to allow a second 5G network in the country was made with the aim of avoiding a single point of failure and to establish redundancy for 5G services.
The minister also said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between MCMC and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) to further boost the adoption of 5G technology among small and medium enterprises.
“Within a week or two, MCMC and Mida will sign an MOU to help these SMEs adopt and implement a 5G network in their businesses,” he added.
