Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) is entering a new phase in Malaysia’s 5G development, shifting its focus from establishing nationwide infrastructure towards strengthening network capacity, resilience and advanced capabilities as the country moves ahead with its dual 5G network framework.
That transition is being underpinned by two major developments: the completion of a RM5.2 billion syndicated Islamic term financing and the assignment of DNB’s entire 240MHz spectrum holding, giving the company greater financial and regulatory certainty as it prepares for its next stage of development.
The RM5.2 billion financing, which DNB described as among the largest syndicated loan facilities ever arranged for an unlisted Malaysian company, provides it with a longer-term funding platform to continue investing in the network without relying on the Government Guarantee Revolving Credit Facility, which expired on Sept 29.
More significantly, the financing facilitates the planned exit of the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) as an ordinary shareholder and the transition towards equal ownership among DNB’s mobile network operator shareholders — CelcomDigi Bhd, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd — expected in early 4Q26.
MOF Inc will retain a special share to safeguard national interests and maintain oversight of strategic matters.
For DNB, the changes signal an evolution from its initial role of building the country’s first national 5G platform towards operating as a commercially sustainable infrastructure provider within Malaysia’s next-generation telecommunications landscape.
DNB’s next challenge is no longer simply expanding 5G availability.
With a nationwide platform already established, its focus will increasingly move towards network quality, capacity expansion and resilience, particularly as data consumption rises and more businesses, government agencies and digital services begin relying on 5G infrastructure.
The company’s spectrum position gives it greater room to pursue that objective.
Following approval from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, DNB has been awarded the full 100MHz block in the 3.3GHz to 3.4GHz range, while its entire 240MHz spectrum holding has been converted into a Spectrum Assignment effective Oct 1.
The additional spectrum provides DNB with the capacity required to handle rising traffic while improving speed, latency and overall network performance.
It also creates the foundation for more sophisticated technologies, including Massive MIMO, carrier aggregation, 5G Advanced and artificial intelligence-driven network capabilities.
That suggests DNB’s role in the next phase of Malaysia’s 5G journey will increasingly be about extracting more performance from the infrastructure already deployed rather than simply expanding basic connectivity.
As Malaysia’s digital economy becomes more dependent on cloud computing, AI, data centres and connected industrial systems, telecommunications networks will increasingly need to provide more than consumer mobile broadband.
Low latency, high capacity and network reliability will become particularly important for enterprise applications, industrial automation and government digital services.
DNB’s expanded spectrum resources could therefore allow it to support a wider range of use cases as Malaysia progresses towards 5G Advanced, the next stage of 5G technology that promises higher network performance and more sophisticated connectivity applications.
Chief executive officer Datuk Azman Ismail said the financing gives DNB a sustainable platform to operate independently while continuing to invest in network enhancement and capacity expansion.
“The successful completion of this RM5.2 billion financing exercise marks a significant milestone for DNB and reflects strong confidence in our business fundamentals, operational track record and long-term role in Malaysia’s digital economy,” he said.
“This financing provides DNB with a sustainable platform to operate on its own, continue investing in network enhancement and capacity expansion, and leverage our expanded spectrum assets.”
The ownership transition also changes the relationship between DNB and the country’s mobile network operators.
With CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL expected to become equal ordinary shareholders, their commercial interests will become more directly aligned with DNB’s network performance, investment priorities and ability to meet future capacity requirements.
For the operators, a stronger DNB could provide access to greater capacity and improved network performance without each having to replicate the same infrastructure investment.
For DNB, the shareholder structure provides closer alignment with the companies that ultimately deliver services to millions of mobile customers.
Its role will therefore remain closely tied to supporting its MNO shareholders by providing reliable wholesale infrastructure capable of meeting growing customer demand.
At the same time, DNB will need to ensure the network remains sufficiently resilient and scalable as Malaysia’s dual-network framework develops.
The next stage of 5G development is also likely to place greater emphasis on enterprise and institutional applications.
DNB specifically identified enterprises and government agencies, alongside shareholders and customers, among the stakeholders it intends to support as the network evolves.
The significance is that 5G’s economic value is increasingly expected to come from applications extending beyond smartphones — including connected factories, intelligent transport systems, smart cities, automation and AI-enabled services.
The combination of broader spectrum resources and stronger financing gives DNB greater ability to make the network investments required to support those applications.
This also aligns with the government’s ambition of developing Malaysia as an AI Nation, where digital infrastructure will become increasingly important in supporting computing-intensive industries and technology-driven economic activity.
“As Malaysia progresses under the dual network framework, DNB remains committed to providing world-class digital infrastructure that supports our shareholders, customers, enterprises and government agencies,” Azman said.
“With strong financing, enhanced spectrum resources and a proven nationwide 5G platform, DNB is well positioned to support the Government’s AI Nation aspirations and help power Malaysia’s next phase of digital growth.”
DNB’s next chapter is therefore fundamentally different from its first.
The initial phase centred on establishing nationwide 5G infrastructure. The coming phase will be about maximising that network’s economic and technological value — improving capacity, deploying more advanced technologies, maintaining resilience and ensuring the infrastructure can support increasingly demanding digital applications.
Its RM5.2 billion financing gives it the financial runway to do so, while the 240MHz spectrum assignment provides the technical resources needed to accommodate future network growth.
The transition towards MNO ownership, meanwhile, places DNB on a more commercially driven footing while retaining a government special share to protect strategic national interests.
For Malaysia’s broader 5G ecosystem, the key measure of DNB’s success may consequently shift from how quickly it can build coverage to how effectively its infrastructure can support higher-quality connectivity, enterprise digitalisation, AI adoption and the next generation of mobile services.
In that sense, DNB is moving from being primarily the builder of Malaysia’s first 5G network to becoming one of the infrastructure platforms expected to underpin the country’s next phase of digital growth.
