Five telcos ink 5G access deals with DNB

KUALA LUMPUR: Five telecommunication service providers, namely U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Celcom Networks Sdn Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, have inked 5G access agreements (AA) with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) on Oct 30, 2022, to provide 5G services in the country.

Caretaker Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa told a press conference that was livestreamed on his official Facebook page earlier today that five out of six telcos had signed their respective AA with DNB.

Meanwhile, Maxis Bhd, which did not sign the deal with DNB, said in a statement yesterday that it was assessing the governance requirements for the 5G access agreement and is committed to bringing it to a close as soon as possible.

U Mobile, in a statement yesterday, said it would provide 5G services to its customers from Nov 3, 2022, after signing the AA agreement.

"From Nov 3 onwards, customers of U Mobile's 5G-ready postpaid and prepaid plans will be able to enjoy the benefits of 5G connectivity when using compatible devices," it said in a statement yesterday.

Chief executive officer Wong Heang Tuck said U Mobile supports the government's vision of a single wholesale network for 5G deployment, whereby all operators would have access to the same network without differentiation in terms of speed and quality.

"We have full faith that DNB will honour the mandate of providing quality 5G coverage and capacity on an equitable and non-discriminatory basis.

"We look forward to providing 5G services from DNB's single network, making us as well positioned as any other in the industry for 5G," he added.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Axiata Group Bhd said its wholly-owned subsidiary held through Celcom Axiata Bhd, Celcom Networks, had entered into the AA with DNB to allow Celcom wholesale access to DNB's 5G network.

In a separate statement yesterday, the telco said Celcom customers, including Celcom Business customers, who have 5G-enabled devices and are subscribed to selected Celcom postpaid and prepaid plans, would automatically be able to access 5G network services within 5G coverage areas starting Nov 1, 2022.

In another Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, Digi.Com Bhd said its wholly-owned subsidiary Digi Telecommunications had executed the AA with DNB for access to the 5G single wholesale network on Oct 30, 2022.

Digi said in a statement yesterday it would subscribe to DNB's 5G wholesale network for a period of 10 years to develop and offer end-customer retail services which included 5G connectivity.

Earlier, TM announced in a Bursa Malaysia filing that it had executed the AA with DNB on Oct 30, 2022, to subscribe to the latter's regulated 5G services, including, but not limited to, the national 5G wholesale network product.

-- BERNAMA