Following today’s announcement that Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) is still on track to have 500 5G sites ready for Mobile Network Operators by end of this year, a report from Reuters revealed that none of Malaysia’s major mobile carriers have agreed to use the state-owned 5G network. It is reported that this is due to transparency and pricing issues with the wholesale agreement.
DNB still hopes to launch 5G services in three urban centres as it continues talks with mobile operators. Today, DNB has successfully conducted its 5G Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) trial with five telcos, which claims to be the first in the world. MOCN is a model which allows multiple telcos to share a single infrastructure to deploy 5G quicker and in a cost-effective manner.
The Reuters report said DNB has confirmed that no agreement with carriers has been reached and acknowledged its initial timeline for negotiations had been “too optimistic”. DNB is looking to have formal long-term agreements early next year as it continues talks to deploy 5G services in three areas including Kuala Lumpur next month. It aims to cover Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Cyberjaya as part of its initial rollout, with an ambitious goal to hit 80% 5G population coverage by 2024.
DNB CTO Ken Tan told Reuters, “The target now is to have a live network, covering… a total of 500 sites by the end of December, with at least some operators on board to provide a 5G network to end-users.” There’s no mention of its next course of action if no operators agreed to be part of the deployment.
Quoting several industry sources, the report said telcos who have already invested in infrastructure upgrades to support 5G services are concerned that the single-wholesale-network would result in a nationalised monopoly which will hurt their business and limit their access to future technology. Sources estimated that the government’s plan could destroy up to RM45 billion in market value across all telcos including Axiata, Digi, and Maxis. Pakatan Harapan MPs have recently revealed that the MCMC has updated the spectrum guidelines which prevent current telcos from using their existing spectrum for 5G technology and beyond.
DNB has stressed that its approach will help reduce the cost of 5G deployment. Its COO Dusyan Vaithiyanathan recently said telcos will pay much less per GB for 5G data through DNB’s wholesale arrangement than what they are currently spending on their existing 4G network. He also shared that DNB will lease infrastructure from telcos such as towers and fibre optic cables to deploy 5G at a fraction of the cost of building new ones. DNB plans to integrate its network into the telco’s core and they can opt for either a standalone (SA) or a non-standalone (NSA) 5G deployment for their services.
During today’s event, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa revealed the 5 telcos that have successfully completed their 5G MOCN trials with DNB. As shown in the image above, Unifi, Celcom, Digi, Maxis and U Mobile were able to deliver over 1Gbps downloads as well as over 100Mbps uploads on speedtest. DNB CEO Ralph Marshall has said in an interview that DNB’s 5G network is able to deliver at least 100Mbps at the cell-edge. However, the actual speed is depended on their telcos who have control over their product and services.
[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]
