Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) is ramping up to bring Malaysia’s 5G network online on 15th December 2021 and commencing the commercial availability of 5G in the country.
Coverage will be rolled out on an accelerated schedule starting with Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and parts of Kuala Lumpur in December 2021. Thereafter, 5G coverage will extend to 80% of populated areas by end-2024.
DNB is engaged in regular discussions with the domestic telecommunications industry; to provide 5G experiences to end users, DNB will be offering wholesale 5G services AT NO COST to all MNOs that are integrated into the DNB network.
This offer is applicable for all 5G live sites that will be ready throughout Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and parts of Kuala Lumpur by 31st December 2021. The offer lasts until 31st March 2022.
It is expected that MNOs will make available 5G services to all their customers with compatible devices within coverage areas.
Meanwhile, the Reference Access Offer (RAO) – having considered extensive feedback from industry – is expected to be approved by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in the near term.
Upon approval of the RAO, DNB looks to final negotiations with MNOs on signing the long-term Wholesale Agreements.
Those MNOs that enter into the Wholesale Agreement before 31st March 2022 will receive further free access to all additional 5G capacity as sites go live in the period up to 31st March 2022.
End users with 5G-compatible devices will be able to enjoy speeds of 100 Mbps and above. This means a user at the weakest point of 5G coverage would experience 100 Mbps on a 5G-compatible device.
Crucially, DNB will provide wholesale 5G services to the MNOs at a significantly lower cost than their present cost to produce 4G capacity. MNOs should therefore be able to offer lower prices to their customers for mobile services (particularly mobile broadband), which will include 5G services.
The availability of 5G services opens new and exciting innovations, with vastly improved connectivity speeds able to support use cases around the streaming and downloading of 8K quality video content, cloud-based gaming, as well as AR/VR content.
Meanwhile, as a provider of wholesale 5G services, DNB would like to stress that it will not be competing with the industry in providing 5G retail services to end users.
Instead, DNB is complementing efforts by the MNOs with a view to accelerating adoption of 5G in the country. End users are encouraged to contact their respective service providers to enquire about 5G availability.
