Four out of Malaysia’s five mobile operators are officially in the running for the country’s second 5G network after submitting their bids to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
According to the official Bernama news agency, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that CelcomDigi, Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile have all submitted tenders for to participate in the second 5G network. Only YTL Communications has yet to submit a bid, although it still has time to do so.
The Malaysian government has been planning to launch a second 5G wholesale network to compete with existing 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) since May 2023. CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile and YTL ) completed a deal to buy stakes in DNB via share subscription agreements (SSAs) in June, while Telekom Malaysia’s SSA is expected to finalised next week.
The SSAs come with an option that allows each telco to sell their DNB stake in order to take a stake in the second 5G network. They are not allowed to own stakes in both.
CelcomDigi went public with its official bid at the start of this month, while U Mobile has been signing a flurry of agreements to bolster its qualifications to lead buildout of the second 5G network, including a financing deal with AmBank Group, a fibre backhaul deal with Time dotCom, tower-related deals with EdgePoint Towers and Edotco, and partnerships with eight state-backed network facility provider companies from the PPIT Consortium to streamline the 5G rollout process.
Speaking at the Huawei Malaysia Supplier Ecosystem Convention 2024 on Thursday, Fahmi said it’s up to the MCMC who wins the tender.
"We expect a decision soon. I have not yet received any updates from the MCMC,” he said. “Let the process proceed, and we hope to finalise and announce it within the year.”
