Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysiaās new prime minister, has announced that his administration will launch a review of the countryās state-owned 5G network strategy, Reuters reports. With Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) having been set up under the previous government to oversee the rollout of the countryās 5G infrastructure, the new PM confirmed that the matter would be reassessed amid concerns there had been āno proper tender processā in the appointing of Ericsson as DNBās network development partner. āIt needs to be reviewed because it was not done in a transparent manner,ā Anwar said.
In response to the development, DNB said it would cooperate with the governmentās review and was keen to stress that the award of the contract to Ericsson had been conducted transparently. A statement issued by the wholesale operator read: āDNB hopes the review⦠will clear the air and enable full execution and implementation of the 5G rollout for the benefit of the nation.ā
In related news,Ā DNBĀ and Ericsson claim to have achieved a world record distance for gigabit speeds over the formerās 5G network. A test conducted using 28GHz millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum was reported to have achieved a peak throughput of 1Gbps at a record distance of 11.18km from a radio antenna in Butterworth, Penang to a point off the island.
Only last weekĀ DNBĀ confirmed that its 5G network now covers āapproximately 38% of populated areas nationwideā, including key industrial areas across the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor. Other coverage areas include parts of Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Perak, Kelantan, as well as Sabah and Sarawak. Looking ahead,Ā DNBĀ has claimed it is on track to extend its network footprint to cover 80% of the Malaysian population by 2024.
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