After numerous 5G setbacks related to spectrum pricing and transparency, five of Malaysia’s major service providers—Telekom Malaysia, U Mobile, Celcom Axiata, YTL Communications and DiGi Telecommunications—have finalized the terms of an agreement with the Malaysian government to access the 5G network run by state-owned Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB).
The Malaysian government, arguing that a single shared network would reduce costs and improve efficiency, chose to forego a spectrum auction and instead launch with DNB. The country’s largest operators, however, have been less than supportive of this approach, claiming that, beyond issues around high pricing and lack of transparency, they are more capable of rolling out 5G themselves.
