by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR FILE
DIGITAL Nasional Bhd (DNB) announced today that Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) on behalf of Unifi Mobile and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd on behalf of Yes will be the first two operators in the country to provide 5G access to their respective customers within coverage areas.
The latest telecommunication network will be available in certain parts of Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and Kuala Lumpur as of Dec 15 this year.
DNB also said it will be offering wholesale 5G services for free to all mobile network operators (MNOs) that are integrated into its network.
This offer is applicable to 5G live sites in certain areas throughout Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur until March 31, 2022.
In an event marking Malaysia’s 5G availability, DNB CEO Ralph Marshall welcomed TM and YTL Communications onto the DNB network today.
“We are pleased to welcome both TM and YTL Communications as our very first customers of the 5G network in Malaysia.
“TM is the country’s oldest telecommunications provider, having introduced telecommunications services nearly 40 years ago in 1984, while YTL Communications is the youngest and only all-4G network provider in Malaysia.
“Together, they have almost 4.5 million subscribers and an average monthly data demand of 40-to-50GB per subscriber,” he said in a press conference announcing the commercial availability of 5G services in Malaysia.
Marshall further added that TM and YTL Communications are the first two companies to take advantage of DNB’s offer of free wholesale 5G services to all MNOs that are integrated into the DNB network.
He highlighted that end users with 5G-compatible devices will be able to enjoy an average speed of 100 Mbps.
“This means a user at the weakest point of 5G coverage would on average receive 100 Mbps on a 5G-compatible device,” he said.
Accordingly, DNB has announced that those MNOs that enter into the Wholesale Agreement before March 31, 2022 will receive access to all available capacity as sites go live in the period up to March 31, 2022.
DNB added that it will provide wholesale 5G services to the MNOs at a significantly lower cost than their present cost to produce 4G capacity.
Marshall said MNOs should therefore be able to offer lower prices to their customers for mobile services, which will include 5G services.
He hopes that MNOs will make available 5G services to their customers with compatible devices within coverage areas.
Meanwhile, Marshall stated that as a provider of wholesale 5G services, DNB 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,” he said.