MORE telecommunication companies are being persuaded to sign up with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to provide the 5G service in Malaysia, DNB chief commercial officer Ahmad Taufek Omar said today.

Taufek said the sole 5G wholesale service provider had not stopped discussions with all six telcos in Malaysia.

“We have not stopped the progress or discussions with all six (telcos). Communications are still consistently going on, as of last night, we are still in talks with them.

“To us, it’s business as usual, but when it comes to policy and government decisions, it’s not our call,” Taufek told reporters at the launch of the initial 5G rollout at Kuala Lumpur today.

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin told the Dewan Rakyat last week that the Finance Ministry (MOF) insisted on giving the 5G spectrum to DNB despite protests from the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

Zahidi had said the ministry had wanted to consult with DNB but MOF steamrolled the decision and they had to accept it.

Unlike other countries that let telcos set up their own 5G infrastructure, the government had decided to form a special purpose vehicle, DNB, to build the new spectrum.

Telcos had also complained of a lack of transparency on the project by DNB.

Reuters reported yesterday that four operators – Axiata Group’s Celcom, DiGi.com, Maxis and U Mobile – urged the government to allow multiple 5G providers.

They said a single shared network will hamper competition.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), on behalf of Unifi Mobile, and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, on behalf of Yes, are the first two mobile network operators in the country to provide 5G access to their customers within Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur.

DNB chief executive officer Ralph Marshall said he is pleased that TM, the oldest telco in the country, and YTL, the youngest, were their first customers.

“Together, they have almost 4.5 million subscribers and an average monthly data demand of 40-to-50GB per subscriber.”

DNB is offering wholesale 5G services free to operators integrated into the DNB network until March 31, next year.

Taufek said currently TM and Yes subscribers can enjoy the service on a trial run until March, adding they have yet to sign a long-term agreement.

“The long-term agreement will only be signed after the publication of the Reference Access Offer.”

DNB is committed to an accelerated schedule to roll out 5G coverage to 80% of the population by 2024.

DNB said end users with 5G-compatible devices will be able to enjoy an average speed of 100 Mbps, which means a user at the weakest point of 5G coverage would on average receive 100 Mbps. – December 15, 2021.