Four telcos submit bids to build second 5G network

Local carriers are currently offering 5G services via state-run 5G network Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB)

Four Malaysian operators have submitted bids to build the country’s second 5G network, local press reported.

The Malaysian government confirmed that the tender process ended on July 31, 2024, a month after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued the application information package for the second 5G network.

Malaysia’s communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the carriers interested in the deployment of the second 5G network are CelcomDigi, Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile.

He added that the Malaysian government is likely to select the winning firm before the end of the year.

Under a ministerial order issued on June 21, 2024, the winner for the second 5G network bid will receive two blocks of 20 megahertz in the 700MHz band and a 100-megahertz block in the 3.5GHz spectrum band.

The report noted that once a carrier is selected by the government to build the second network, the winner of the bid will divest its interest in state-run 5G network Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). At the same time, the other telcos will remain with DNB to continue to operate and expand the 5G network. All mobile operators in Malaysia  are currently offering 5G services via DNB’s 5G network.

DNB had previously announced that four operators have completed the share subscription agreement (SSA), with each obtaining a 16.3% stake in DNB

The telcos which completed the SSAs include CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile and YTL.

Telekom Malaysia (TM) is the only carrier that has yet to finalize its SSA with DNB, as it still needs to get approval from shareholders in accordance with its governance requirements.

In May 2023, Malaysian authorities had said that the country would shift to a dual 5G network once DNB achieved 80% coverage in populated areas, something that occurred in December 2023.

As of the end of April, DNB’s 5G network had reached 81.5% of the total populated areas and the adoption rate was 39.2%. The country reached a total of 13.2 million 5G subscriptions nationwide as of the end of April.

DNB was set up by the Malaysian government in 2021 as a special purpose vehicle to develop the country’s 5G network infrastructure, which private telecommunications firms are currently using to offer 5G services to their customers. DNB’s 5G network was deployed by Ericsson.