PUTRAJAYA – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will soon announce a tender process allowing mobile network operators (MNOs) to bid for the dual 5G network system, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
However, Fahmi added that the MNOs must complete their share subscription agreement (SSA) processes for their equity shareholdings with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), and they would be given 20 days to do so, starting from today.
“The cabinet was informed that DNB had its first meeting (with telcos) yesterday, and each representative is given 20 days to make a decision,” he said during a post-cabinet press conference at his ministry today.
“We hope that after the duration, (the telcos) will complete and finalise their equity holdings in DNB.
“A precondition to joining the dual network is to complete the SSA. Not long from now, the MCMC will announce a tender for the firms interested in making their bids.”
In an exclusive interview with Scoop last week, Fahmi said the government was in the “final weeks” preceding the announcement of the second 5G network roll-out.
He said the MCMC would determine the telco tasked with delivering the second 5G network.
Asked why the SSAs had yet to be completed, Fahmi explained that telco representatives needed to further discuss the matter with their companies before making a decision.
“Telcos have requested additional time to consult their boards, with some needing to hold extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) to make certain decisions.
“Consequently, there is a matter of due diligence, which has now been completed and presented,” he said.
Last year, five MNOs agreed to take up equity holdings in Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) to support Malaysia’s 5G network development. These operators are CelcomDigi Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd.
As of April 30, Fahmi reported that 5G network coverage had reached 81.5% of populated areas, with an adoption rate of 39.2%. He noted that this included approximately 12.78 million individual users and 422,609 enterprises, marking a 3.8% increase from March this year.
To encourage 5G adoption among enterprises, Fahmi announced that the MCMC will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) within two weeks. – May 21, 2024