KUALA LUMPUR – Telekom Malaysia (TM) is the first telecommunications operator to sign up for 5G network trials and is expected to join in a few pilot trials here and in two other urban areas.
The company told Reuters that the trials are being carried out with a state-run agency before the roll-out of the 5G network services by year-end.
TM, however, did not reveal if the company inked an agreement over the use of the 5G network.
“We will continue to support the government’s aspiration to deliver 5G for the nation,” it was quoted as saying.
Malaysia’s 5G network has been much talked about lately after calls of greater transparency over the rollout, especially on financing.
Last month, Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) said negotiations with telcos had yet to start and agreements are only expected to materialise early next year.
The Vibes also reported that Putrajaya would not be guaranteeing loans or other financial facilities used for the nationwide 5G rollout.
DNB chief financial officer Nik Azlan Aziz had said the risk was in the business model, “just like any infrastructure or utility-type business model”, and financing will be borne by the private sector.
DNB estimated that the total cost of the 5G rollout would be around RM16.5 billion but might increase to RM20 billion between 2025 and 2030, after factoring another RM3.5 billion of additional investments to add sites or densify the network to satisfy demand for additional capacity.
The RM3.5 billion, DNB said, was purely an estimation of potential future costs that will only be committed based on possible increases in the demand for 5G.
DNB will also work with telecommunication companies (telcos) and infrastructure providers to develop the 5G network and utilise existing infrastructure as far as possible, avoiding duplication and reducing costs.
The network cost was forecasted to be RM12.5 billion, of which RM4 billion is for network equipment and RM8.5 billion for network infrastructure.
Of the RM12.5 billion 5G coverage network equipment and infrastructure cost, only RM1.8 billion will benefit foreign interests; RM10.7 billion will be expanded into the domestic telco ecosystem through tenders, with primary beneficiaries being telcos, and fibre, infrastructure, and power providers – including an estimated RM1 billion for Tenaga Nasional Bhd and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission each, the latter for spectrum apparatus assignment fees.
The cost of the 5G coverage network equipment and infrastructure was initially estimated at RM11 billion, as announced on July 1.
DNB also plans to launch its 10-year sukuk programme next year. – The Vibes, December 5, 2021
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