News

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil is planning to meet with local mobile network operators (MNOs) to address the issue of additional charges imposed by them to bring subscribers onto the 5G network. Some MNOs in Malaysia have required subscribers to pay an additional premium, ranging between RM3 and RM20, on top of their existing phone bills, in order to access the 5G network.

Fahmi acknowledged that not all MNOs charge extra and mentioned that he will meet with the CEOs of the companies to coordinate this matter and address subscribers’ concerns. He also mentioned that his wife had expressed hesitation about adopting 5G due to the added charges. Meanwhile, MNOs are expected to announce affordable 5G packages on National Day, August 31.

Malaysia’s 5G network retail prices are expected to be cheaper than current 4G internet plans because the infrastructure was built under a single wholesale network (SWN) provider called Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), which is shared among all MNOs. This shared infrastructure model is expected to be more cost-effective compared to the 4G network, where MNOs build their own infrastructure.

A policy shift was announced by the Malaysian government in May, stating that the SWN model will be replaced with a dual network (DN) model once 80% coverage of populated areas (COPA) is achieved. This is to ensure that the entire nation’s 5G network does not rely on a single point. Under the DN model, DNB will serve half of the nation’s MNOs, while the other half will rely on an Entity B, which is yet to be determined.

Fahmi expressed confidence that Malaysia will reach the COPA target by the end of this year or early next year, enabling two entities to operate 5G. He clarified that DNB will work with half of the MNOs, while the other half will work with Entity B, which will be announced in due course.

The post Minister to Discuss Extra Charges for 5G with Mobile Network Operators appeared first on satProviders.