THE new 5G services will not be expensive because the government has taken this into account before the roll-out, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa.

He said that through agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the government had set that the cost for the facility should not burden consumers.

“That is why we made efforts to find a cost-effective service module with the DNB-operated 5G multi-operator core network integration model.

“If each telecommunications company does its own infrastructure, it will have implications on costs and this will be less efficient to consumers.

“Therefore, with the DNB model, 5G services do not use the concept of ‘different operators, different infrastructures’, instead emphasising on ‘one single owner’ so that services are provided more efficiently and at lower costs,” he told reporters at Telekom Malaysia Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur today.

Annuar added that with the model, the government hopes to make Malaysia one of the leading countries for 5G network services in the next three years.

“This is important to the government because part of the planning of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) depends on our ability to provide 5G.

“In fact, in providing the facility, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will continue to play a role as a regulator, so that no party has to worry about transparency issues and so on,” he said.

According to Annuar, as contained in the MyDigital blueprint, DNB was given a timeline before the end of this year to implement 5G services to areas in Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur first.

“This means that in the next three years, we are expected to cover about 80% of populated areas throughout the country.

“This is a very important national agenda because it will be a game changer for economic activities throughout the country,” he said. – Bernama, November 10, 2021.