PUTRAJAYA, May 3 — Malaysia will continue the rollout of 5G with state agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) until 80 per cent of population coverage is reached, upon which it will transition to a dual wholesale network model.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil today announced that the second phase, the migration to the dual network system, is expected to begin early next year.
“This model takes into account the sustainability of the telecommunication industry ecosystem in Malaysia while ending the monopoly that is frequently associated with DNB,” he told reporters during a press conference at his ministry this afternoon.
He expressed confidence in the 80 per cent target being met by the end of this year as the rollout is currently at an estimated 57.8 per cent with a remainder of roughly 2,000 sites to go.
Having multiple networks will avoid the problem of single point failures and will not have negative effects on speed, but instead will increase capacity beyond projections and ensure interoperability, according to the assessments by the ministry, he said.
“We are ensuring interoperability so in case one network were to be affected, for whatever reason, there’s a fallback network,” he said.
He said that the most important priority for the government is to ensure affordability of the service for the people.
After the announcement, the government will meet all parties involved to begin a series of discussions on the details, he said.
He added that his ministry will work with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), DNB and service providers to ensure that the transition to the dual network system occurs smoothly without affecting the interests of the people and the confidence of investors.
DNB is the holder of Malaysia’s 5G spectrum. It has been tasked to develop Malaysia’s 5G infrastructure and lease it out to the telecommunications companies under the single wholesale network (SWN) model. It is set to achieve 80 per cent coverage by end-2023, from 50 per cent at end-2022.
The company is 35 per cent-owned by the government, while the remaining 65 per cent is split between Celcom Axiata Bhd (12.5 per cent), Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (12.5 per cent), YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (20 per cent), and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (20 per cent).
DNB was established in early March 2021 to accelerate the deployment of 5G infrastructure and network in Malaysia. It will offer 5G as a wholesale network service to other telcos.
Putrajaya, under former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration, has been in constant negotiations with telcos in the country over the rollout of 5G, with telcos constantly pushing back for more favourable terms — advocating for a dual wholesale network (DWN) model instead of the government’s single wholesale network (SWN) — which they claim would provide better optimising availability and pricing of 5G.
