Participation in the Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) equity offer is now in its final stage involving four service providers, said Communications and Multimedia Minister, Annuar Musa.
They are Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YES).
“Discussions with all four companies have gone smoothly and it is hoped that the access agreement will be finalised and signed by Sept 30,” he said in a statement on September 20 regarding the development of 5G implementation in Malaysia.
Annuar said to facilitate the process of equity participation, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry (K-KOMM) and MCMC will update several license conditions for DNB, particularly those related to company ownership.
“This is because the company structure is no longer 100% owned by the government, instead, the majority shares will be owned by several telecommunications companies that agree to be part of the venture.”
“As shareholders and investors, they deserve to consider terms that are convincing and that guarantee the viability of the company in the future,” he said.
Annuar said the government’s efforts to speed up the implementation of 5G infrastructure have shown positive results after almost a year of development of a single wholesale network (SWN) carried out by DNB.
Additionally, YES has called on the government to consider introducing more 5G-related incentives under Budget 2023 to further accelerate the use of the 5G network in the country.
YES CEO, Wing K Lee said a targeted tax rebate for consumers could drive 5G device ownership, prompting wider usage, while offering incentives to businesses for the usage of 5G could enhance the digitalisation of the economy.
In addition, to fully leverage the advantages of the 5G network, Lee suggested that government agencies and entities should also be given allocations or funds for the adoption of 5G.
Celcom, on the other hand, through its Friendly User Trial programme, has started to open 5G access to their selected users to test 5G services.
