06 December 2023
Malaysia’s five mobile operators have finally signed share subscription agreements (SSAs) to take equity stakes in wholesale 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), which also clears the way for a second 5G operator to be established next year.
Telekom Malaysia, Maxis, U Mobile, YTL and CelcomDigi (via Infranation) have signed the SSAs, agreeing to collectively take a 70% stake in DNB, with each taking a 14% stake. Each will also inject around RM233 million – a total of RM1.16 billion – which will be utilised to meet DNB’s funding requirements.
The government’s Minister of Finance (MOF) will hold the remaining 30% as well as a ‘special share,’ according to a DNB statement.
The SSAs were finalised via the 5G Task Force, which comprises the MOF, the Ministry of Communications and Digital, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), DNB and all five operators. The task force was established by the government in May 2023 to transition from the current Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model to a Dual Network (DN) model.
The finalised SSAs will enable the government to proceed with its plan to set up a second 5G operator to compete with DNB once its 5G network covers 80% of populated areas. DNB’s network coverage is currently 73%, although actual subscriber numbers remain low – DNB reported 3.6 million 5G service subscriptions in Malaysia at the end of October 2023, which works out to 10.8% market penetration.
