The European Union and the United States had previously warned of risks to national security if Malaysia allowed Huawei to join its local 5G network.
According to reports, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the country will adopt a dual 5G network scheme from 2024, allowing for further participation by Chinese vendor Huawei. Reuters.
The Malaysian government confirmed in May that it would allow the rollout of a second 5G network in the country, with the aim of breaking the current monopoly of a single state-run network.
The European Union and the United States had previously warned of risks to national security if Malaysia allowed Huawei to join its local 5G network.
Mr Anwar acknowledged concerns from some countries about the safety of Chinese technology, but said the decision to allow a second 5G network was taken to enable Malaysia to benefit from various technologies. He said that he was injured.
“I think we Malaysians…were right to decide that while we get the best from the West, we also need to get the best from the East,” he said. “After extensive discussions, we decided to allow dual networks and thereby more effective participation of Huawei,” he added.
According to previous reports, Huawei was lobbying to participate in the rollout of future 5G network infrastructure in Malaysia.
Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) was established by the Malaysian government in 2021 as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network infrastructure for use by private telecommunications companies to provide 5G services to their customers. DNB has partnered with Swedish telecom giant Ericsson to roll out its 5G network in Malaysia.
The local carrier is currently providing 5G services across Malaysia through DNB’s 5G network infrastructure.
However, Malaysia’s 5G rollout by DNB had raised concerns over pricing and transparency, as well as concerns that a single national 5G network could lead to a state-run monopoly.
Due to these concerns, Malaysia’s new government has decided to review the nationwide 5G network rollout.
Malaysian Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fazil previously said that DNB will continue to roll out 5G network infrastructure in the country until 80% coverage is achieved by the end of 2023. The Malaysian government also confirmed that DNB will be temporarily handed over to a private organization. We have achieved our 5G population coverage target.
