We are almost halfway through August and there is still no official news from the telecom operators they have signed up with. Digital National Berhad 5G unique wholesale network of (DNB). Initially, our Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Minister, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, said they agreed, but it seems that Maxis and U Mobile could be missing.
The report came from the Straits Times and claimed that these two telecom operators could be at risk of missing out on 5G. Although we don’t know the outcome yet, the report says Maxis and U Mobile failed to meet Putrajaya’s terms on contracts and DNB shares. An official also told the media that the two telecom operators still had concerns about DNB’s governance over the 5G network.
Additionally, the source says that each telco pays up to RM200 million each for an equal 11.7% share of DNB. This is based on the Ministry of Finance injecting RM500 million for its 30% stake. And every three years, MCMC will oversee the price review agreement, as previously stated.
Nonetheless, we should know the results by the end of August, if the source is believed to be true. After all, Musa said it would take 7-8 days for the telecom operators to announce it, but it seems that DNB is saying a different thing that takes two months to finalize the sale of the stake.
Currently, only YES distributes 5G SIM packs, but only selected locations have access to 5G. Telekom Malaysia has also signed but nothing is in progress so we are still awaiting an official announcement. Stay tuned for more tech news at TechNave.com.
