KUALA LUMPUR – Around 12 million users are set to gain access to 5G services by the end of the year after five of six mobile telecommunication service companies signed access agreements (AAs) with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) yesterday.
Caretaker communications and multimedia minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the five telcos are Celcom Networks Sdn Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications, and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).
“Alhamdulillah, five of the six telecommunications companies have already signed the access agreement to provide immediate access to 5G.
“It is expected that through this agreement, 12 million phone users will have access to 5G by the end of this year,” he told a press conference today.
Meanwhile, Maxis Bhd, which did not sign the deal with DNB, said in a statement yesterday that it was assessing the governance requirements for the 5G access agreement and is committed to bringing it to a close as soon as possible.
U Mobile, in a statement yesterday, said it would provide 5G services to its customers from this Thursday, after signing the AA agreement.
“From November 3 onwards, customers of U Mobile’s 5G-ready postpaid and prepaid plans will be able to enjoy the benefits of 5G connectivity when using compatible devices,” it said in a statement yesterday.
Chief executive officer Wong Heang Tuck said U Mobile supports the government’s vision of a single wholesale network for 5G deployment, whereby all operators would have access to the same network without differentiation in terms of speed and quality.
“We have full faith that DNB will honour the mandate of providing quality 5G coverage and capacity on an equitable and non-discriminatory basis.
“We look forward to providing 5G services from DNB’s single network, making us as well-positioned as any other in the industry for 5G,” he added.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Axiata Group Bhd said its wholly owned subsidiary held through Celcom Axiata Bhd, Celcom Networks, had entered into the AA with DNB to allow Celcom wholesale access to DNB’s 5G network.
In a separate statement yesterday, the telco said Celcom customers, including Celcom Business customers, who have 5G-enabled devices and are subscribed to selected Celcom postpaid and prepaid plans, would automatically be able to access 5G network services within 5G coverage areas starting today.
In another Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, Digi.Com Bhd said its wholly owned subsidiary Digi Telecommunications had executed the AA with DNB for access to the 5G single wholesale network on Sunday.
Digi said in a statement yesterday it would subscribe to DNB’s 5G wholesale network for a period of 10 years to develop and offer end-customer retail services, which included 5G connectivity.
Earlier, TM announced in a Bursa Malaysia filing that it had executed the AA with DNB on Sunday to subscribe to the latter’s regulated 5G services, including, but not limited to, the national 5G wholesale network product. – Bernama, November 1, 2022
