Malaysia plans to set up second 5G network from next year -sources

( This April 16 story has been updated to say” setbacks” rather than” delays” in paragraph 2 )

Yantoultra Ngui and Rozanna Latiff

In the most recent policy shake-up aimed at dismantling monopolies and fostering competition by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s’s six-month-old administration, KUALA LUMPUR / SINGAPORE( Reuters )- Malaysia plans to introduce a second 5G network starting next year, four sources told Reuters.

State agency Digital Nasional Berhad( DNB ) has experienced numerous setbacks in Malaysia’s’s 5G rollout due to industry concerns about pricing and transparency as well as problems that a single government-run network would lead to nationalized monopolies.

Anwar has mandated critiques of billions of dollars in government tasks since taking office in November of last year in an effort to improve management and reduce wasteful spending. In order to guarantee better products for the general public, he has already vowed to increase competition.

Four places with knowledge of discussions who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation told Reuters that Anwar’s’s government is now preparing to launch a single 5G network starting in January 2024 to break the DNB switch on the market.

According to the communications and modern government, no decision has been made regarding 5G as of yet.

Without further explanation, Ahmad Firdaus Mohd, news secretary to the communications minister, stated in a text message that the issue was still being reviewed.

In March of last year, the former government rejected a request made by major carriers for another 5G provider. With the help of two telecommunication companies, DNB launched its circle in late 2021.

All five mobile operators in the nation — aside from one — decided to use DNB’s’s network in October, extending the reach of 5G services to more people after months of protracted negotiations.

Nevertheless, after Anwar took office in November and announced a review of the 5G method, claiming it had not been honestly formulated by the previous management, the roll-out came under scrutiny once more. That assertion was refuted by DNB.

According to the sources, the development of a second network will depend on DNB and mobile operators achieving the government’s’s goal of covering 80 % of the nation by the end of this year.

According to two sources, the government is anticipated to receive a request on the strategy on Wednesday.

Maxis Bhd, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, and YTL Communications, four Indonesian company companies, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CelcomDigi, a second company, and DNB both declined to comment. CelcomDigi sent additional questions to the authorities.

According to media reports, communications secretary Fahmi Fadzil stated on Friday that he hoped to bring up 5G issues in the cupboard this week. Fahmi added that in occupied areas last year, 5G network reporting had reached 55 %.

A second system, according to DNB, would lower costs, increase efficiency, and hasten the construction of infrastructure.

The potential impact of the next 5G network on DNB’s’s current contracts with other mobile operators and its development companion, the Swedish telecom behemoth Ericsson, was unclear.

CelcomDigi, Telekom, and YTL, three carriers, agreed last year to collectively acquire 65 % of the company, with the government holding the remaining 35 %.

Maxis and U Mobile, two significant mobile operators, declined to acquire ownership in DNB, according to Reuters.

Later, U Mobile joined some company companies in registering to use DNB’s’s 5G network. Maxis has stated that it will hold off until the government’s’s survey of DNB is finished.

( Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur, with Tom Hogue’s’s editing )

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