Malaysia Builds Momentum in 5G and Mobile Growth

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.

Related Posts: 

• Private Networks Technology Blog: ZTE's Award-Winning Minimalist Private 5G-A Solution
• Operator Watch Blog: Malaysia is a Land of Competition with Plenty of Mobile Networks to Choose from
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Malaysia Looks at Small Cells for 5G
• Operator Watch Blog: Malaysia Decides on Innovative Approach for 5G Spectrum 

Ethiopia Ready to Break Telecom Monopoly

Ethiopia was one of the last countries in Africa to allow its national operator a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, internet and data communications.

The only operator present in Ethiopia is Ethio Telecom, or  Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) and owned by the government. It's the only telecommunications services provider in Ethiopia, providing internet and telephone services on landlines and mobiles. It was managed 2010-12 by France Telecom, but is now back under the full control of the government.

Until now Ethio Telecom’s monopolistic control has stifled innovation, restricted network expansion and limited the scope of services offered. However, in June 2019 the government approved legislation which will open the market to competition and provide much needed foreign investment. There has also been considerable investment in telecoms services, infrastructure and service expansion projects in recent years. Ethio Telecom has secured a network monitoring platform to help it improve services and has also revised plans to launch a telecom satellite, while the government initiated the construction of a $3 billion technology city.

Most of the technologies deployed thus far have been provided by ZTE and Huawei, which have often been preferred for offering vendor financing. In preparation for competition in the mobile market, Ethio Telecom has placed the expansion of LTE services as a cornerstone of its investment program to 2022.

Penetration of mobile phones is low in the country: only about 4.5% of Ethiopian population own one. The mobile service is unreliable and often interrupted. The system is frequently out of work or overloaded, callers using both the landlines and mobile network are unable to connect, the situation is made worse by inclement weather. Frequent power outages and damages to fibre optic cables add to the problems.

Coverage is very low outside the capital and provincial towns. 3G services started in 2008 only in major towns so far. In 2015: 95% of the population were in a 5 km radius to the next available phone line (being either a landline or within mobile coverage). Nevertheless, the maximum distance that people from rural communities have to travel for being able to use telecom services decreased from 30 km to 5 km within the last 10 years. This is in contrast to 725 base stations built in the capital Addis Abeba alone.



Ethio Telecom operates 3G up to HSPA+ is on 2100 MHz. 4G/LTE this was launched in Addis Abeba only in 2015 on 1800 MHz (B3). 4G/LTE is available for prepaid in the capital. Ethio also operates a network in CDMA/EVDO technology, that is not compatible with GSM technology.

The monopoly of Ethio Telecom will however come to an end soon. In 2019 Ethiopia awarded two telecoms licenses to multinational mobile companies. The government also offered a minority stake in Ethio Telecom. The privatization drive amounts to 40% of the country's telecom sector.  The government expected the winning companies to start operations in 2020, initially using Ethio Telecom’s infrastructure to run their networks while building up own infrastructure.

However as of last month 12 foreign companies have submitted bids for a partial stake in Ethiopia's telecommunications monopoly. In a press release, the Ethiopian Telecommunications Authority (ECA) said it has received complete information and expression of interest from nine international telecom operators and two non-telecom companies.

According to the ECA, the bidders from the telecom sector are Etisalat, Axian, MTN, Orange, Saudi Telecom Company, Telkom SA, Liquid Telecom, Snail Mobile, and Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium of telecom operators comprising Vodafone, Vodacom, and Safaricom. The two non-telecom companies are Kandu Global Telecommunications and Electromecha International Projects.
It is not yet clear when the winners will be announced.

GSMA Intelligence estimated Ethio Telecom had 43 million connections (excluding IoT) at end Q2 2019. Of these, 96 per cent were prepaid with less than 9 per cent on 4G.. GSMA Intelligence estimated the number of unique mobile subscribers was 35.4 million at the end of Q3 2019, with just 20.7 million of these data connections.

Indonesia consolidating 4G

Indonesia’s mobile market has displayed very strong growth for the five years up to 2016. However by  2019, growth had subsided. Growing use of mobile broadband has been a significant driver of this strong growth. Industry consolidation is possible towards 2020 as intense data competition may force smaller and unprofitable mobile operators to be pushed out of the market. Currently four main mobile operators compete for revenues in the Indonesian market. All of these operators are well advanced in the deployment of their 4G LTE networks.

Mobile subscriber growth is expected to be relatively low over the next five years to 2023 as the market further matures in a highly competitive market. The market will be driven by the uptake of both 4G and 5G services. Indonesia has seen a very rapid increase in mobile broadband penetration over the past five years driven by a rising level of mobile broadband users. However, the mobile broadband market is still at a relatively early stage of development. Strong growth is predicted over the next five years to 2023.

Indonesia 4 GSM network operators are Telkomsel,  IM3 Ooredoo (a.k.a. Indosat) 3 (= Tri) and XL Axiata. Additionally, Smartfren operates a 4G/LTE network only. For the 4 major national providers 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G is on 2100 MHz. 4G/LTE has been started on Telkomsel, XL Axiata and IM3 on 900 MHz (band 8 in Jakarta, Bali and other cities and from summer 2015 on all networks on 1800 MHz (band 3) too.

Link

Telkomsel, the mobile branch of Telkom Indonesia, has a market share of about 40% in Indonesia and is the only operator which is active in all provinces.It is 2/3 owned by the state through Telekom Indonesia and 1/3 by SingTel from Singapore.

Telkomsel presided over a mobile network totalling 146,571 base stations in 2017, of which 65.7% are capable of supporting 3G/4G services. For 4G 900 and 1800 MHz (bands 8 and 3) are used and from 2018 additionally 2300 MHz TD-LTE on band 40.

Telkomsel has the best coverage especially on the outer islands, but can be slow on the main places. 4G/LTE has started on 900 and 1800 MHz in Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, Medan, Surabaya, Makassar, Lombok and Manando: 4G Coverage Map. In 2016 they announced that their LTE network is now live in 100 cities in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, as well as Papua, thanks to the deployment of more than 4,500 eNode B base transceiver stations (BTS). 4G access is only possible with a 4G-enabled SIM card sold in stores where they have 4G coverage.

According to the most recent OpenSignal report on Indonesia Telkomsel has maintained its dominance by winning four out of five metrics in their national analysis, and more than 75% of the awards in Indonesia’s 16 largest cities. 

Telkomsel has also partnered with Ericsson and selected NFVI core network technology for a major core network upgrade as it moves towards 5G deployment. Ericsson’s core network solutions will enable Telkomsel to improve speed, efficiency and agility for its current business and for future opportunities. With increasing Radio Access Network (RAN) speeds and the growing need for low latency, service providers also face the need to evolve core networks to advanced and flexible architecture that includes distribution to the network edge. The deployment of Ericsson’s NFVI (Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure) solution, together with Ericsson Cloud Packet Core, is a significant step towards making Telkomsel’s network 5G-ready. Telkomsel will benefit from scalable software architecture, reduced time to market for new services, lower total cost of ownership, and faster responses to changing consumer and enterprise demands.

M3 Ooredoo, a.k.a. Indosat, has become the 2nd operator in Indonesia with 22% share of the market. It's focusing on triple play and mostly owned by Ooredoo, which rebranded it in 2015. It has a good coverage on the main islands of Java, Bali, Kalimatan, Sulawesi and Sumatra: Indosat coverage map at low prices. 4G/LTE has started in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali and is available in about 94 cities at the end of 2016 on 900 (B8) and 1800 MHz (B3) with speeds up to 185 Mbps.  In 2017 it auctioned further spectrum on 2100 MHz (B1).

This advert is really about 4.5G (LTE-Advanced Pro) from Three (Tri) Indonesia #5GAdverts #TriIndonesia #SiapaTakut https://t.co/p7ZI1yi873

— 3G4G (@3g4gUK) February 16, 2020

3 called Tri in Indonesia by Hutchison Whampoa from Hong Kong is now the 3rd provider with the lowest coverage and the cheapest rates. It has a limited coverage only in some main islands. If you want to travel through the archipelago or to remote places, look elsewhere. Before you buy their SIM, check coverage here for 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE. Up to now 3 has been focusing its efforts on its 3G network rollout, deploying access to the 2,820 sub-districts, 307 municipalities in 25 provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java, Bali and Lombok. As of 2015, the operator had extended its national footprint to 86% of the Indonesian population.

In 2015 Tri started 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz (band 3). In 2017 4G/LTE is available in 227 cities in 25 provinces on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java and Bali and Tri auctioned further spectrum on 2100 MHz (band 1).

Despite sharp increases in streaming and gaming services in Indonesia, @Telkomsel saw only a 5% jump in overall data traffic since mid-March while @XLAxiata_Tbk experienced about a 15% increase from March 16 to 20, Jakarta Post reported. That's likely to change in next few weeks pic.twitter.com/TpOFKpM75J

— joseph (@Telecomwaring) March 25, 2020

XL Axiata is the 4th provider in Indonesia. It is owned by Axiata Ltd. and has about a 90% coverage on these islands: Java, Bali and Lombok. Furthermore, it covers cities on Sumatra, Kalimatan, Sulawesi and a very limited coverage on Papua. Where it has 3G, speeds are often faster then Telkomsel. 4G/LTE has started in Jakarta, Medan, Yogyakarta and is spread to other regions like Bali, Lombok, Surabaya and East Kalimatan and Sulawesi on 900 and 1800 MHz: 4G Coverage Map . As at 31 October 2017, XL Axiata says it had more than 20 million 4G subscribers nationwide, using a network comprising 16,000 BTS. At the same date, its total number of ‘on-air’ base stations had reached nearly 100,000, of which more than 44,000 were 3G-equipped.

Indonesia operator @XLAxiata_ID reported strong profit and revenue growth in H1. Other highlights: #ARPU grew 10% y-o-y, #4G base stations up 51% to 37k, 7% sub growth, 86% smartphone penetration pic.twitter.com/jJcWsc675H

— joseph (@Telecomwaring) August 9, 2019

Smartfren by Indonesian PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk is a major player in the country.They previously  used CDMA and EVDO rev.2 instead of GSM, but have now migrated to LTE.

In 2016 Smartfren started the most widespread and fastest LTE in the country so far. It employs LTE Advanced that reaches higher speeds through carrier aggregation. But two rare frequencies are used: 850 MHz FDD (Band 5) and 2300 MHz TDD (Band 40).  Smartfren's coverage is on the islands of Java and Bali, parts of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Lombok and Kalimantan. It started 4G/LTE in 25 centers so far (coverage map) and reaches 188 cities in 2016. They launched 4G/LTE SIM cards in 2015. They do not have any coverage outside of their 4G/LTE.

Shurish Subbramaniam, Indonesia mobile operator @Smartfren CTO, said Kominfo awarded it 800MHz in the 28GHz spectrum to conduce #5G trials, which includes real-time remote monitoring at a factory. Achieved downlink speeds of 8.7Gb/s. pic.twitter.com/l1n45qnE7l

— joseph (@Telecomwaring) September 12, 2019

Smartfren have selected ZTE of China to collaborate on the development of 5G technology in the country. Together they had a demonstration and deployed a 5G network in a logistics warehouse, and connected the 360-degree camera and the VR headset through the 5G network, transmitting images to the monitoring room in real time. This demonstration adopts spectrum of 28 GHz at 5G medium-high-frequency mmWave, and the maximum throughput using two carriers reaches 8.7 Gbps.

However despite some activity on the 5G front it is not expected to launch in Indonesia any time soon.

A great deal of development is still needed on their 4G networks which despite being nearly-ubiquitous, there are major contrasts between Indonesia’s national average and city speeds highlights and the connectivity gap that exists between sparsely populated rural areas and densely populated cities, and the challenges faced by mobile operators to provide uniform mobile network experience across the country's vast archipelagic geography. 

To cope with this digital divide, which is an obstruction towards Indonesia’s digital economy goals, the Indonesian Govt. recently completed the Palapa Ring — a massive fibre-optic infrastructure project to bring high-speed connectivity across Western to Eastern Indonesia, especially to some of its poorest regions in the country’s east, including the restive region of Papua.

But that doesn't immediately solve the problem for mobile internet users, as they still won't be able to find connectivity on the go for some time to come, especially in Eastern Indonesia where mobile operators have a weak presence. Also, some areas could not be reached by fibre cables, mainly the mountainous areas of Papua and West Papua. Therefore, the Ministry of Communication and Information now plans to install 4000 BTS by end of the year to offer a “truly 4G” signal, and on top of this, they will also deploy Multifunctional Satellite (SMF) to increase access in all regions.

Therefore some breathing space is needed before 5G deployment to achieve better connectivity between Indonesia’s islands to try and make the mobile experience a less variable one across its many cities.

Ecuador taking baby steps towards 5G

Ecuador has a small telecom market dominated by the mobile sector. The evolution of the market has suffered due to poor infrastructure, topographical challenges and the deploying of networks to remote and mountainous areas is very expensive. Unfortunately there has been a legacy of under investment in telecoms infrastructure.

The mobile sector is shared by América Móvil’s Conecel (trading as Claro), which has a 52.5% share of the market by subscribers, Telefónica’s Otecel (trading as Movistar) with about 30% of the market, and CNT (previously Telecsa/Alegro) with a share of 17.6% share. Thus far the MVNO sector has been slow to develop, partly because the incumbent operators also have their low-cost brands and thus there is little business case for new market entrants. Virgin Mobile is expected to launch a service in Ecuador, following on from similar launches in Mexico, Chile and Colombia.


Claro the leading mobile network operator by subscribers has the best coverage especially in remote areas. 4G/LTE has started in 2015 in Guayaquil, Quito, Cumbayá and Sangoloquí and is rolled out in other regions available for prepaid.



Claro have demonstrated 5G technology at an event organised by the Ministry of Telecommunications in Guayaquil to promote its ‘Digital Ecuador’ strategy. In a statement, the company said interactive exhibits would enable users to experience the faster download speeds enabled by 5G, as well as applications such as virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The operator, which recently announced plans to invest USD500 million in network upgrades over the next three years, also revealed it will soon begin 5G technology tests in Quito in partnership with hardware vendor Huawei. Ecuador’s government outlined plans in July to allocate 3.5GHz spectrum in 2020 in preparation for the launch of 5G services.


Movistar (brand name of Telefonica) is the 2nd network in the country, giving even better speeds in the cities, but a lower coverage: coverage checker outside. 4G/LTE is open for prepaid and available in Guayaquil, Salinas Quito, Cuenca, Azogues, Ambato and Tonsupa in 2016.

Back in September, Commsupdate reported that Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has begun exploring the sale of its Ecuador unit for as much as EUR800 million (USD881.8 million) as part of its ongoing debt reduction efforts, reports Spanish daily El Economista citing unnamed sources. Although talks with potential buyers have yet to begin, the group is studying market conditions ahead of a sale which could attract interest from Millicom (Tigo) and Entel Chile, claims the report. Telefonica Ecuador (operating under the Movistar brand) reported EBITDA of EUR75 million and revenue of EUR252 million in the first six months of 2019.



Back in August, Telefonica did 5G demos with ZTE to prove the benefits of 5G. According to Ecuador TV, the organizers were looking to share with the community the importance, advantages and benefits that will be had with the new 5G technology. Several virtual reality posts were exhibited in which the user can observe the augmented reality in real time. For example, a camera was placed on the eighth floor of the building and when putting on the glasses one could feel the vertigo of the height.



CNT or Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones is the public provider in Ecuador. They focus mainly on ADSL and landline phone connections. It has a mobile network too, but this is rather limited in coverage. 4G/LTE is open for prepaid and gives the best speeds in cities of all operators in the country.

Ecuador Mobile Network Experience Report July 2019 from OpenSignal listed Claro as a winnder of their 'Download Speed Experience' award, following a draw with Movistar six months ago, as the Telefónica subsidiary's growth in this metric has stalled. It was a similar story in Upload Speed Experience, where static growth from Movistar allowed Claro to surge ahead and grab the award. But in both speed metrics, CNT's users saw the greatest improvement.

The 'Video Experience' award was shared jointly by Claro and CNT, as both these operators pulled ahead of Movistar, whose score dropped after winning this metric six months ago. All three of Ecuador's operators now have Fair ratings as CNT's Video Experience score jumped by 13 points (out of 100). Movistar kept hold of our 4G Availability award, but statistically saw no growth in its score over the past six months. CNT increased its score by 8 percentage points to tie for second place with Claro — and both operators are now within 5 points of the leader.

In the cities analysis, CNT managed to win three of the awards in Quito — 4G Availability, Video Experience and Download Speed Experience — while it drew with Claro for Latency Experience. State-owned CNT has also shown the greatest improvement across its scores in this report, and is fast becoming a serious challenger to its bigger rivals.

You can read all details here.

Malaysia: 5G Trials and Updates

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has said the optimisation of the existing 4G network is essential before the country can achieve the adoption of 5G network.

While the 5G Taskforce was established by the commission in November 2018, with the aims of exploring practical uses and modes of 5G, as well as to learn and iron out policies, regulations and spectrum planning for 5G, MCMC said full adoption may only take place in a few years’ time. MCMC said in a statement.:

“Thus, what is essential today is for the current network architecture to be fully enhanced and optimised to address congestion and manage high bandwidth. Malaysia’s current network suffers from low throughput of 9 megabit per second (Mbps) or 36% below average during certain times of the day, as a result of congestion or bottlenecks between network elements, i.e. the radio interface and core network,”

This is due to a partially fiberised end-to-end network architecture, and only 40% of the Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) are fully fiberised. Accordingly to MCMC currently, the average 4G download speed in Malaysia stands at 21.1Mbps. 

MCMC chief digital officer Gerard K M Lim said 5G technology promises 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) per user and if the core network upgrade work is overlooked, the same throughput issue will continue to plague the country.

Lim said there would be a potential bottleneck or congestion point between BTS and the core network and therefore, the telecommunication providers must ensure that current 4G access is optimised and at the same time, prepare for the upcoming 5G requirements.

“Ultimately, the goal is to ensure positive customer experience, when it comes to connectivity without any congestion issues."

No doubt 5G connectivity has the potential to grow the economy by delivering the next generation of digital services, said MCMC, adding that technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and massive machine communications will rely on the future deployment of 5G.

MCMC also released a report and THE DRAFT NATIONAL FIBERISATION AND CONNECTIVITY PLAN (‘DRAFT NFCP’) 

The Draft NFCP sets out, among others, the targets, action plans and strategies to accelerate deployment of digital infrastructure. The 5-year plan aims to:

i. address issues that hinder the widespread availability of high quality and affordable

digital connectivity;

ii. support the needs of the country moving forward and harness opportunities offered by

new services / technologies; and

iii. provide clarity in terms of strategic directions for initiatives to support the digital

economy and adoption of future technology. 

Source.

Initially, the Draft NFCP outlined 17 targets to be achieved through four (4) action plans:

A. Ensure optimum deployment of digital infrastructure

         1. Average speed of 30 Mbps in 98% of populated areas;

         2. 100% premises passed in State Capitals and selected high impact areas with up

             to 500 Mbps;

         3. 20% of premises passed in sub-urban and rural areas with up to 500Mbps;

         4. Fibre network passes 70% of schools and government offices, hospitals and police

             stations near schools;

         5. Gigabits availability in selected industrial areas and to all State Capitals;

         6. Phasing out of copper network;

         7. Assessment of technical standards that should be mandated for infrastructure

             deployment;

         8. Allocation of 700MHz and reallocation of 2300MHz and 2600MHz;

         9. Mobile coverage along Pan Borneo highway upon completion;

        10. Submarine Cable Landing Centres (‘SCLC’) in Sabah & Sarawak to link directly to

              international cables; and

        11. Policy position on 5G related issues.

B. Provision of affordable services and improve quality to drive the digital economy

        12. Entry level fixed broadband package at 1% of Gross National Income (‘GNI’);

        13. Double the speed at half the price; and

        14. Yearly publication of Quality of Service Report.

C. Promote competition

        15. Extension of liberalisation in key strategic activities.

D. Participation in the digital economy

        16. 100 rural e-commerce fulfilment centres; and

        17. Quality of Service for courier service. 

These initial targets and action plans were prepared based on initial consultations with limited stakeholders as well as from the initial targets announced by the Minister at the “Malaysia : A New Dawn Conference” in October 2018.

In November last year, MCMC established a 5G task force to explore the practical uses and modes of 5G as well as to iron out policies, regulations and spectrum planning of 5G.

Telecommunications providers have been urged to be prepared for the upcoming 5G requirements.

Maxis Bhd has in collaboration with Huawei kicked off the first 5G live trials in Malaysia, specifically in Cyberjaya earlier this week.

The trials will be conducted over six months and are expected to provide a deeper analysis of 5G characteristics, Maxis said in a statement today.

This includes the use of spectrum in higher bands, co-existence with current services, as well as use cases such as Gigabit high speed mobile internet and ultra high-definition virtual reality applications.

"During the trial so far, Maxis recorded close to 3GB per second download speed," they said in the statement.

The trial follows the recent announcement by the government that Cyberjaya and Putrajaya will become the first smart cities in Malaysia to experience 5G technology. According to Maxis:

"Once available, 5G is expected to provide speeds up to ten times higher than what 4G network can do today for applications such as Ultra High-Definition VR and 360 degree viewing. It will also open up new use cases in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and drones," 

Malaysia's national telco Telekom Malaysia (TM) is also in the first stages of testing 5G connectivity in the country. The test will be conducted via their internet service provider division Unifi and the first location will be in the town of Puchong in the Petaling Jaya district. Currently, the telco's LTE network is capable of speeds up to 200Mbps, but with the implementation of pre-5G, the speeds will be boosted up to 500Mbps. The Executive Vice President of Unifi Moharmustaqeem Mohammed stated that the transition to 5G will be done seamlessly and customers will not have to change their current packages or equipment.

U Mobile have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ZTE to support its 5G deployment goals in Malaysia. This will include various 5G related developments including live testing, 5G showcases as well as Massive MIMO implementation.

According to U Mobile, they have a long standing working relationship with ZTE and it is a logical next step to continue to collaborate on initiatives related to 5G. According to the telco’s CEO, Wong Heang Tuck, U Mobile will be working closely with ZTE to conduct live tests in selected areas in KL city so that Malaysians can experience the power of 5G first hand.

Finally Celcom Axiata Berhad, Malaysia’s leading data network provider, has signed an agreement with Ericsson to expand and upgrade its LTE network in Malaysia. As part of this, Ericsson will supply Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its Ericsson Radio System portfolio to help Celcom serve the growing demand for data services in Malaysia. Ericsson’s RAN equipment will also serve as a platform to help Celcom evolve its network to 5G in the coming years.

Mohamad Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, says:

“We have been at the forefront of providing our customers with the best data experience, and remain committed to evolve our network with the latest technologies. This partnership is strategic as it will not only help us further expand our LTE footprint but create the base for the launch of 5G services. We will continue to drive technology innovations in Malaysia to bring the latest services, and to enable all Malaysians to participate in the digital economy.” 

In 2017, Ericsson and Celcom performed Malaysia's first ever 5G trial, pioneering the evolution of the nation's telecommunications technology. It was the first 5G trial conducted on the 28 GHz band in South East Asia.