Telecom operators in Malaysia are considering getting a stake in the government’s 5G agency, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). The government had offered the telecom operators up to a 70% stake in DNB. According to a Reuters report, Celcom, DiGi, U-Mobile, and Maxis, in a joint statement, said that they would explore the government’s offer.
Earlier, the telcos in Malaysia had raised concerns over the presence of DNB as a single 5G network provider in the country. Addressing these concerns, the government said that it would offer up to 70% stake to the telcos in DNB and reserve 30% for itself.
Telecom Firms Looking Into Offer
Unlike other countries, Malaysia isn’t allowed private telcos to launch 5G network services. Instead, the government is offering them a stake in DNB, which is supposed to be the only body offering 5G network in the country.
The telecom firms have said that they are looking into the offer made by the government and have asked for more details regarding it.
A thing worth noting here is that DNB said earlier that cost of accessing its 5G networks would be lower for the consumers than the cost they had to incur for using 4G from private telcos.
The telcos have said that they will wait and finalise the shareholding structure before they sign an agreement. Further, the telcos have asked the DNB to avoid undertaking any major deals or hires while the negotiation process is going on.
DNB had said that it would be offering its 5G networks to the private telcos for free up to June 30, 2022, so that a seamless transition for the operators can be facilitated.
The telcos didn’t want any single body to provide 5G network in the country for avoiding any sort of monopolistic scenarios. This offer from the government is something that the telcos might consider and talk about in the coming days.
