KUALA LUMPUR – Maxis Bhd and U Mobile have rejected the offer to take up a stake in the Finance Ministry’s special purpose vehicle for 5G after months of negotiation.
This is another setback for the national 5G rollout plan headed by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB).
Quoting three sources, Reuters reported that Maxis and U Mobile will not sign the agreement with the government, and they will probably try to “restructure the deal”.
Two sources were quoted as saying that the two telco companies do not see the benefits of inking the agreement but are still open to deals that allow access to the 5G network.
Just last Saturday, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said discussions on DNB’s stake deals were progressing well and were set to meet the deadline when the signing by six telcos would be held on August 31.
He added that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will chair a meeting on August 29 to decide on a few terms.
Previously, it was expected that six telcos would finalise their agreements to acquire stakes in DNB.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Celcom users would likely be able to participate in the company’s trials of 5G broadband as early as September, as the company had integrated 5G broadband connectivity at 1,000 telecommunications sites around the country.
A week ago, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) was in final negotiations with DNB as it moved towards rolling out the 5G network nationwide.
TM managing director and group chief executive officer Imri Mokhtar said arrangements to finalise the equity agreement and wholesale agreement with DNB were on track, and the company was working to meet the deadline of August 31 set by the Finance Ministry.
“We have also written to DNB about our interest in registering as a shareholder, and the process is still ongoing,” he said in a media briefing following TM’s second quarter 2022 financial results announcement.
Industry sources said many Malaysians could benefit from the initial roll-out of high-speed 5G by mid-September once the telcos ink the relevant deals with DNB.
The sources said several telcos are already in the midst of conducting speed tests in certain major cities before the unveiling of 5G connectivity, which will see rapid deployment within the next few months.
This comes after Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that the telcos have until August 31 to finalise the agreements to acquire stakes in DNB, or risk missing out on reaping maximum benefits from the nation’s 5G SWN. – The Vibes, August 31, 2022
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