According to industry sources cited by RHB Research, U Mobile plans to deploy between 5,000 and 7,000 5G sites across Malaysia. Although the official roll-out plan has not been revealed yet, analysts expect it to involve upgrading existing 4G sites and building new ones.
The funding for this expansion is likely to come from a combination of vendor financing, deferred payment options, and debt funding.
RHB also mentioned that U Mobile is likely to collaborate with other mobile network operators to share network infrastructure in order to reduce capital expenditures (CapEx), which could amount from MYR 3 billion to MYR 4 billion. This collaboration will help expedite site deployments and achieve population coverage targets more quickly.
U Mobile previously signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with four network infrastructure providers to facilitate site deployments. There has been a significant ownership change at U Mobile, with Singapore Technologies Telemedia selling a substantial stake to Mawar Setia Sdn Bhd.
U Mobile was chosen to implement the second 5G network in Malaysia by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in November last year. Recently, the communications minister announced the end of the single wholesale 5G network and the implementation of a dual network model, replacing the previous single wholesale model for 5G.
The new directive instructs the MCMC to proceed with implementing the dual network and revokes the previous directive appointing Digital Nasional Bhd as the sole entity to deploy 5G infrastructure and networks in Malaysia.