Malaysia's 5G network roll-out is ahead of schedule and will exceed 40% coverage of populated areas (Copa) nationwide by December 2022, on track to achieving the commitment of 80% Copa by 2024 or earlier, said Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB).
In a statement dated Dec 11, the company said the network will reach 14 million people located in those areas where the network has been established, and the number will exceed 30 million over the next two years.
The 40% Copa will be achieved with approximately 3,500 sites against an initially planned 4,018. This reduced site count is a result of the supply chain issues seen earlier this year and delays in securing the necessary local council approvals primarily in Selangor and Sarawak.
These issues have largely been resolved and the network will be deployed progressively in 2023 as planned. In order to overcome the delays experienced and to achieve the 40% Copa, DNB had redirected its network deployment efforts to those states initially intended for 2023 and beyond.
The network currently includes almost all of the federal territories, Putrajaya, Selangor, and significant parts of Penang, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan, as well as some parts of Melaka, Perak, Kelantan, Sabah, and Sarawak.
David Hägerbro, head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh, said the roll-out of the 5G network by DNB is one of the fastest in the world, having commenced deployment only in October 2021.
Meanwhile, DNB chief operating officer Nasution Mohamed said on the basis of demand for 5G services as well as support received for the necessary approvals from the various state and local council authorities to accelerate network deployment, the firm was confident of achieving 80% Copa within the next 18 months.
To date, five of six Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Malaysia, who collectively have well over 20 million subscribers – Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YES) – have commenced making retail 5G services available to their end users, following the signing of their respective 5G Access Agreements with DNB on Oct 31, 2022.
However, DNB said Maxis Bhd customers will not be able to access 5G services just yet, pending its shareholders’ approval to execute the 5G Access Agreement, which Maxis has indicated it plans to seek in January 2023.
Significant increase in data traffic, uptake of 5G-compatible smartphones
DNB said traffic on Malaysia’s 5G network has been surging, with 56,000 concurrent users utilising 146 Terabytes (TB) of capacity on Nov 30, 2022, or the equivalent of 77,500 hours of high-definition movies.
It said the network is averaging 394 Mbps download speed against the average 4G download speed of 35 Mbps. Meanwhile, 5G-compatible devices continue to proliferate the market, with some 7 million devices already in the hands of end users to date.
It is forecasted that the growth will double in 2023 and exceed 40 million devices by 2030, said DNB.
Source: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/dnb-says-5g-network-rollout-ahead-schedule