Last year, the Malaysian government announced plans to roll out the country’s second 5G network.
The Malaysian government has announced new directors for national 5G network Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), moving closer to the rollout of a dual 5G network in the country, local media reported.
The appointments were announced following the signing of a Share Subscription Agreement (SSA) late last year by five local operators to acquire a 70% stake in DNB Networks.
According to Malaysia’s Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, these appointments pave the way for the implementation of dual 5G network plans in the Asian country.
“After this, they will move forward. We hope that they will move forward swiftly because it is very important for us to ensure that we can focus on the 5G rollout,” the minister said. Govind stressed that the government’s position on moving to a dual network remains unchanged.
The minister also pointed out that it has always been the government’s policy and commitment to build dual 5G networks in Malaysia.
DNB has worked with local mobile operators to oversee the rollout of multiple 5G private networks in industries such as oil and gas. Govind also called on Malaysia’s manufacturing sector to rapidly invest in adopting cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and industrial robotics to boost productivity.
DNB was established in 2021 by the Malaysian government as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network infrastructure, which will be used by private telecommunications companies to provide 5G services to customers. DNB’s 5G network was deployed by Ericsson.
The Malaysian government announced in May 2023 that it would allow the rollout of a second 5G network in 2024, adding that a new organization would be established 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 single points of failure and establishing redundancy for 5G services.
Malaysian officials had said the country would move to a dual 5G network once DNB achieved 80% coverage in densely populated areas, which would be December 2023. That month, Malaysia’s five largest mobile operators signed an equity subscription agreement to acquire a combined 70% stake in DNB.
Under the terms of the agreement, domestic operators Celcom Digi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Power International have agreed to invest approximately $50 million each to acquire a 14% stake in DNB. According to the Malaysian government, these subscriptions are expected to be completed between February and April 2024 after completing due diligence requirements.
The Malaysian government had previously said it would retain its “golden” share in DNB and the remaining 30% stake. The government also confirmed it would not take a stake in the second 5G network.
