Malaysia Launchs Second 5G Wholesale Network

After reaching a critical milestone in the initial wholesale network, Malaysia will continue with its second 5G deployment.
Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil stated at this week’s press conference that the DNB network, which has been under construction since 2021, now covers over 80% of densely populated areas.
The government stated last year that once the threshold of 80% is exceeded, it will start establishing a second wholesale supplier.
Fahmi stated that the government’s 5G working group will meet with DNB, regulatory agency MCMC, and five 5G telecommunications companies on Friday. The cabinet will make a decision on the second network within a month.

Last year, after some operators opposed DNB’s high access costs, lack of redundancy, and limited competitiveness, and refused to cooperate with the wholesale monopoly model, the government and industry reached an agreement to establish a second network.
According to the terms of the agreement, these five operators – CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, and YTL – collectively hold a 70% stake in DNB. According to Maxis data, each operator also paid 233 million Malaysian Ringgit (50.2 million US dollars) as a service prepayment.
Although it took several years for all parties to reach an agreement on the terms for operator participation in DNB, discussions on the terms for the second operator seem to have just begun.
The simplest scenario could be for two or more telecommunications companies to exit DNB and invest in new entities – but this would mean cancelling some of DNB’s arrangements.
DNB itself could become an entity entirely owned by telecommunications companies no matter what. According to reports, the Ministry of Finance, which holds 30% and gold shares, has the right to withdraw from investment after reaching the 80% target.
This company, established by the previous government, seems to be in an uncertain state. Since the initial appointment of CEO and industry veteran Ralph Marshall, who resigned after his term ended in March last year, the company has not had a CEO. According to DNB’s website, it has no chairman and only two board members.
Surprisingly, DNB has just been placed under the supervision of the new Digital Department. In contrast, existing operators are regulated by the MCMC under the Ministry of Communications.