KUALA LUMPUR – Consumers of five local telcos will get to enjoy 5G services soon as the firms have executed their access agreements with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB).
With the exception of Maxis Bhd, sources told The Edge that the telcos involved are Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, and U Mobile Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, TM said in a bourse filing today that it is also one of four telcos taking up DNB’s equity offer, adding that its transactions with DNB for the preceding 12 months amounted to RM64.8 million.
“The access agreement sets out the terms and conditions for the services, which commences retrospectively on October 7, and shall continue to be in force until the expiry of 10 years i.e. October 6, 2032.
“TM must subscribe to the national 5G wholesale network product in order to gain access to other 5G services offered by DNB,” TM said in the Bursa Malaysia filing.
Celcom Axiata, Digi Telecommunications, and YTL Communications have also opted for equity stakes in the Finance Ministry’s special purpose vehicle.
Celcom Axiata has taken up 12.5%, followed by Digi Telecommunications (12.5%), YTL Communications (20%), and TM (20%).
Maxis and U Mobile have opted out of the equity offer.
The ministry holds the rest of the 35% stake.
DNB previously said that under the terms of the share subscription agreements and agreed governance structure between the parties, no single telco can hold more than a 20% stake.
During his Budget 2023 speech earlier this month, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said DNB was planning to develop RM1.3 billion in infrastructure next year to roll out high-speed 5G broadband connectivity nationwide.
He added that this investment would allow DNB – which is the government’s single wholesale network for 5G services – to expand high-speed broadband connectivity to 70% of populated areas next year. – The Vibes, October 31, 2022
