CelcomDigi is taking bold steps towards transforming its network operations with the goal of creating a fully AI-powered, autonomous environment. At FutureNet Asia 2025, the company outlined its ambition to evolve beyond traditional network management and place customer experience at the centre of its operational strategy.
As one of Malaysia’s largest operators, serving over 20 million customers and running the country’s most extensive mobile and fibre network, CelcomDigi sees network intelligence and resilience as national priorities. Mobile connectivity has become the backbone of Malaysia’s digital economy, underpinning everything from education and healthcare to e-commerce and industry. Customer expectations are now focused less on basic coverage and more on the quality of experience, whether that means smooth video streaming, consistent gaming latency or reliable digital payments.
To meet these expectations, CelcomDigi has identified three major challenges that must be addressed. The first is the growing complexity of networks as new services such as IoT, network slicing and smart industry solutions are introduced. The second is the demand for real-time responsiveness, with customers expecting zero downtime and instant performance. The third is the ongoing paradox of rising data traffic without equivalent revenue growth, which puts pressure on costs and efficiency.
CelcomDigi believes that the way forward lies in AI-driven autonomous operations. By 2028, the company aims to achieve level four autonomous operations, supported by closed-loop systems, predictive intelligence and generative AI. The transition involves moving from reactive processes towards predictive, self-diagnosing and self-healing networks that can assure customer experiences at scale.
The operator is already making progress on this roadmap. Working closely with Ericsson, CelcomDigi has deployed AI platforms that enable predictive maintenance, automated fault detection and real-time root-cause analysis. Processes that previously took hours can now be resolved in minutes, and continuous optimisation ensures 24/7 network performance. Examples already live on the network include nationwide AI-powered root-cause analysis, closed-loop traffic balancing with significant efficiency improvements, and intelligent change management that boosts success rates. Even everyday applications such as WhatsApp calls are being enhanced through AI-driven quality optimisation, reflecting how closely network performance is tied to customer experience.
These initiatives are delivering measurable results. The operator reports higher availability, fewer call drops, smoother video streaming and faster recovery times. Improvements in customer experience are also reflected in stronger satisfaction scores.
Looking ahead, CelcomDigi’s vision is a zero-touch, customer-centric network that runs seamlessly in the background. The company sees autonomous operations not only as a means of simplifying complexity and reducing costs, but also as a way to differentiate connectivity, support innovation and sustain market leadership in Malaysia’s fast-growing digital economy.
You can watch the full session in the video below. For more insights like this, make sure to follow FutureNet World, where industry leaders regularly share their strategies for the networks of tomorrow.
Malaysia has a robust telecommunications infrastructure and a competitive mobile market. According to GSMA Intelligence, Malaysia had 43.3 million cellular mobile connections at the start of 2025. It is important to note that many individuals use more than one mobile connection, such as one for personal use and another for work, so the total number of mobile connections often exceeds the population. The growing adoption of eSIMs has further simplified the use of multiple connections on a single device.
In fact, GSMA Intelligence data shows that, as of January 2025, mobile connections in Malaysia were equivalent to 121% of the country’s total population.
Looking at recent trends, mobile connections grew by 474,000, an increase of 1.1%, between the start of 2024 and early 2025. Additionally, 99.0% of mobile connections in Malaysia are now classified as broadband, meaning they connect through 3G, 4G, or 5G networks.
However, it is worth noting that not all devices on broadband-capable networks actively use mobile data. Some connections may be limited to voice and SMS services only, so this broadband percentage should not be interpreted as a direct indicator of mobile internet usage.
As part of its broader economic development efforts, Malaysia has actively promoted open competition in the telecommunications sector. This approach has led to high penetration rates in both mobile and mobile broadband services, along with near-universal LTE coverage. Since the launch of 5G in 2022, adoption has grown rapidly, with 5G making up 38 % of all mobile broadband subscriptions by September 2024.
The major mobile operators in Malaysia are CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, YTL Communications (YES), and Unifi Mobile. These operators have been actively involved in the rollout of Malaysia's national 5G network and are key players in the country's telecommunications landscape.
To maintain consistent 5G service quality, Malaysia’s mobile operators continue to utilise the state-owned 5G network operated by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). In May 2023, Malaysian authorities announced plans to transition to a dual 5G network model once DNB reached 80% population coverage, a milestone that was achieved in December 2023.
This shift marked a significant policy change, including the revocation of a 2021 ministerial directive that had previously appointed DNB as the sole entity responsible for Malaysia’s 5G rollout.
DNB was established by the government in 2021 as a special-purpose vehicle tasked with developing the national 5G infrastructure. Its network, deployed by Ericsson, is currently used by private telcos to deliver 5G services to consumers and businesses.
As of now, the major mobile operators in Malaysia provide 5G services through DNB’s state-run network. These include CelcomDigi, Maxis, YTL Communications (Yes 5G), and U Mobile. Each of these operators, except for Telekom Malaysia which had its equity deal cancelled, holds a 16.3% equity stake in DNB. The Ministry of Finance retains a 34% share.
CelcomDigi holds a 30.1% market share in the Malaysian telecommunications sector. This is a significant increase from 2023, following the merger between Celcom and Digi in November 2022. The merged entity has become the largest telecommunications company in Malaysia, surpassing its closest rival, Maxis.
Currently, it serves over 20 million customers, two-thirds of the Malaysian population, through 6.7 million postpaid and 13.4 million prepaid subscribers. CelcomDigi operates the widest 4G network, covering over 96 % of the population nationwide from approximately 24,000 network sites and has an extensive fibre network of around 15,000 kilometres.
CelcomDigi and Ericsson have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to introduce AI-driven network analytics across CelcomDigi’s infrastructure, aiming to enhance operational efficiency as 5G adoption continues to rise in Malaysia. As part of the agreement, both companies will collaborate on the development of intent-based autonomous networks, integrating AI and automation to improve network performance and efficiency. They also plan to explore the use of AI in building advanced 5G service assurance solutions, with the goal of delivering more reliable and tailored connectivity experiences for both businesses and consumers.
According to Ericsson, Malaysia registered 18.2 million 5G subscriptions as of the end of 2024, which equates to a market penetration rate of 53.4%.
CelcomDigi also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ZTE to collaborate on integrating AI technologies into its telecommunications infrastructure. The companies plan to explore AI-driven solutions such as new calling, intelligent deep packet inspection for smarter network traffic management, and intelligent operations and maintenance to automate network monitoring and maintenance using AI-powered predictive analytics.
Maxis is the second largest operator in Malaysia. Maxis operates one of the most reliable 4G LTE networks in the country, reaching over 95% of the population. With Malaysia's ongoing 5G rollout under the DNB single wholesale network model, Maxis was initially cautious in adopting the new structure. However, in 2023, Maxis signed an access agreement with DNB, enabling it to begin offering 5G services.
According to Opensignal, Maxis was the first Malaysian operator to win the Reliability Experience award. It also won the Consistent Quality award with 67.3% of tests, closely followed by Digi with 67.1%. Since the last report, Maxis’ Consistent Quality score has improved by 11 percentage points.
U Mobile, despite being a smaller operator, has announced plans to build Malaysia's second 5G network, aiming to rival the first built by DNB. The decision follows government approval for a second 5G network in a move to end the monopoly previously held by DNB. U Mobile has chosen Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE as technology partners for this project.
The enterprise-grade 5G network will support 5G Advanced and network slicing from day one, enabling tailored services for industries like healthcare, transport, and smart cities. U Mobile’s rollout emphasises improved indoor 5G coverage and prioritises key locations such as transport hubs, medical centres and data centres. U Mobile has stated it will continue working with DNB to ensure quality of service during the transition.
Unifi Mobile is a Malaysian internet mobile network operator and a subsidiary of the national telephone company, Telekom Malaysia. Unifi performed well in the recent Opensignal report, winning the 5G Download Speed Award with speeds of 290.3 Mbps. In the previous report, there had been a three-way tie but Unifi has now emerged as the sole winner. Unifi also won the 5G Video Experience Award with a score of 77.7 on a 100-point scale, more than two points higher than Digi.
Yes Mobile is operated by YTL Communications Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of YTL Corporation Berhad, a leading Malaysian infrastructure conglomerate. Launched in November 2010, Yes Mobile was the fifth mobile operator in Malaysia and distinguished itself by deploying an all-IP, all-4G network from the outset.
In December 2021, Yes Mobile became the first operator in Malaysia to launch 5G services, branded as Yes FT5G. This rollout was facilitated through a partnership with DNB. Yes Mobile's 5G services initially covered areas such as Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Cyberjaya.
The Yes network is built with an all-IP architecture, making it the first and only all-4G and all-IP network provider in Malaysia capable of offering unique services such as user ID-based unified communications and session concurrency for mobile data and telephony services. Yes operates its own network infrastructure in Malaysia, with close to 5,000 base stations and an all-4G network footprint reaching over 85% of the population.
As Malaysia continues to expand its 5G infrastructure, mobile operators are in active competition and are poised to integrate next-generation technologies into their offerings.
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