Chinese telco group to partner with Green Packet and XOX to roll out 5G?

According to the New Straits Times, an unnamed telecommunications group from China is looking at Malaysia to expand its 5G technology. It was suggested that it’s eyeing potential partners with 5G capabilities to help build the network.

It was reported that the Chinese group was investing billions of ringgit on 5G this year despite the pandemic and they aim to start talks after the movement control order is lifted. Green Packet Bhd and XOX Bhd were mentioned as potential partners as they were “5G-ready”.

Green Packet and XOX 5G ready?

Among all the telcos in Malaysia, it is interesting to see both Green Packet and XOX being suggested as potential partners. Green Packet used to have P1 which was a WiMAX network and they have sold majority stake of the company to TM in 2014. Subsequently, TM launched Webe, a 4G LTE service which is now known as Unifi Mobile.

Meanwhile, XOX is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that offers mobile services utilising Celcom’s network. The last major announcement was their partnership with AdvanceTC to offer 4G and 5G mobile phones with satellite connectivity.

Both Green Packet and XOX currently do not operate their own mobile network and they didn’t participate in the 5G Demonstration Project that was organised by the MCMC. However, Green Packet does make and distribute its own 5G CPE and they have a partnership with China Mobile.

As announced earlier this year, 5G spectrum for 700MHz and 3500MHz bands in Malaysia will be assigned to a single entity instead of individual telcos. By forming a consortium, the MCMC hopes to lower capital expenditure required by telcos to roll out 5G and to promote network sharing.

Green Packet’s share price had risen to as high as RM1.44 on Monday before it dips to RM1.00. Green Packet’s KiplePay had recently signed an agreement with Tencent Holdings which will allow them to tap on Tencent Cloud facial recognition and machine learning capabilities to provide localised e-KYC solutions for local businesses. Meanwhile, XOX shares had risen to RM0.06 which is double from RM0.03 on the 4th of May.

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