The government announced last year that Malaysia would move to a dual 5G network.
Malaysian telecom operators involved in the rollout of a dual-network 5G model in the country are set to sign an agreement to acquire a stake in state-run 5G network Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), a local newspaper reported, citing Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
“The telcos have until June 21 to complete their share subscription agreements for DNB shares and are generally ready to sign,” the minister said, adding that he was optimistic they could begin the formal process of forming the second network in Malaysia after that date. The minister had previously noted that telcos would need to complete these agreements before bidding for the rollout of the second 5G network.
The Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry reportedly recently held discussions to define a strategy and action plan for the implementation of the Asian country’s second 5G network.
Previously, telecom companies involved in the plan had 20 days to enter into share subscription agreements with DNB.
Malaysian authorities had said in May 2023 that the country would move to a dual 5G network once DNB achieved 80% coverage in densely populated areas, which happened in December 2023. That month, Malaysia’s five largest mobile operators signed an equity subscription agreement to acquire a combined 70% stake in DNB.
At the time, Fazil said the decision to allow a second 5G network in the country was taken with the aim of avoiding single points of failure and establishing redundancy for 5G services.
Under the terms of the agreement, local operators CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Power International have agreed to invest about $50 million each to buy a 14% stake in DNB.
As of the end of April, DNB’s 5G network had reached 81.5% of the total population area, with a deployment rate of 39.2%. As of the end of April, the number of 5G subscriptions nationwide reached a total of 13.2 million. Of the total 5G subscriptions, there were 12.7 million private users and 422,609 enterprises.
DNB was established in 2021 by the Malaysian government as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network infrastructure. Currently, private telecommunications companies are using this infrastructure to provide 5G services to their customers. DNB’s 5G network was deployed by Ericsson.
The government said the second 5G network will primarily focus on additional aspects such as the implementation of 5G technology across various vertical sectors.
