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Government-run 5G wholesaler Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) says it has exceeded its original plan to cover 40% of the country’s populated areas with 5G

On Monday, DNB kicked off the New Year with an announcement that it’s growing 5G network now covers just under half (47.1%) of Malaysia’s populated areas. The state-operated 5G wholesaler said that it had 3,900 sites operational across the country by the end of last year, serving roughly 15 million people.

This puts DNB somewhat ahead of schedule, having only originally planned to reach 40% coverage by the end of last year.

However, today this claim is being challenged by the Malaysian Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who noted that these figures had yet to be independently verified by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

I think @DNB_Official must explain how they arrived at these figures.@MCMC_RASMI has not yet verified this info.

Next time I don’t think DNB should publish prior to verification. https://t.co/JHjCipq6LJ

— Fahmi Fadzil 🇲🇾 (@fahmi_fadzil) January 3, 2023

Indeed, these figures from DNB do seem somewhat strange. Last year the company said it was aiming to deploy 4,018 5G sites to attain its original target of 40%. However, by December the company said that supply chain issues and difficulties in attaining approvals from local councils meant that it would not be able to deploy all of the planned sites by the end-of-year deadline.

Instead, DNB explained that it would reallocate equipment to other locations originally planned for deployment in 2023, saying they were confident they could still reach their 40% target using 500 fewer 5G sites than originally planned.

Based on the figures DNB announced this week, it would seem that they have managed to achieve 47.1% coverage using over 1,000 fewer sites than anticipated.

DNB says its next target is to expand its 5G coverage to 80% of the country’s populated areas by the end of 2024.

The news comes at a time when DNB is facing significant scrutiny from the new government under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was sworn in in November and immediately announced a plan to review the country’s single 5G network model.

The creation of DNB has always been deeply controversial in Malaysia. The country’s mobile operators had long argued that they would be able to rollout their own 5G networks more efficiently than the government wholesaler, which, they say, would make the 5G market competitive and create better value for customers.

They also complained about the business’s lack of transparency, bemoaning possible government corruption.

The government, on the other hand, disagreed, arguing that the single network model would prevent overbuild and allow more rapid deployment.

Over a year after the company’s official launch, none of the country’s mobile operators had signed up for DNB’s 5G services, with the government even threatening to offer its 5G services to foreign companies if the domestic players refused to play ball.

After much negotiating about the prospective ownership structure of DNB, all of Malaysia’s mobile operators – except Maxis – finally agreed to take a stake in DNB in August last year.

Maxis is awaiting shareholder approval for the 5G Access Agreement with DNB, which is expected to be granted later this month.

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The Competition Tribunal dismissed concerns from the Competition Commissioner that the deal would see customers face higher prices

Back in March 2021, Rogers Communications agreed to buy rival Shaw Communications for around C$21 billion, saying the tie-up would allow for increased investment in 5G rollout and create around 3,000 jobs.

However, as was to be expected from a merger of this nature, which would reduce the Canadian mobile market to just three national players, the deal quickly came under intense regulatory scrutiny. For over a year now, the companies have been negotiating with regulators to close the deal/

With Rogers already the mobile market leader in Canada, much of the regulatory discussion centred around the future of Shaw’s mobile unit, Freedom Mobile, the acquisition of which would make Rogers’ market dominance unassailable.

As such, regulators eventually ruled that Shaw must divest of the unit to facilitate the merger, with the operators ultimately agreeing to sell the business to Montreal-based wireless operator Vidéotron in August last year. Conditions were attached to the sale to ensure that Vidéotron would use Freedom Mobile’s spectrum and infrastructure to become Canada’s fourth national mobile operator, with Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, seeking to ensure that the company was “in it for the long run”.

But despite assuaging some regulatory concerns, Canada’s Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell still moved to block the deal in May last year, saying the deal would be bad for competition and drive-up prices for customers. He would also later argue that Freedom Mobile was a more effective market competitor under Shaw’s ownership than it would be under that of Vidéotron.

Now, however, the government’s Competition Tribunal has rejected this plea, saying it does not believe the deal will have the negative impacts Boswell describes.

“It bears underscoring that there will continue to be four strong competitors in the wireless markets in Alberta and British Columbia, namely, Bell, Telus, Rogers and Videotron, just as there is today. Videotron’s entry into those markets will likely ensure that competition and innovation remain robust,” said the Tribunal in its ruling.

Boswell said he was disappointed by the decision and would appeal the decision. As such, a Federal Court has issued an emergency stay temporarily suspending the Competition Tribunal’s dismissal of the case until the application for an injunction can be heard.

Nonetheless, this decision leaves very few roadblocks left for the merger. Champagne is expected to formally approve the transfer of Freedom Mobile’s spectrum to Vidéotron later this month, with the Rogers–Shaw merger itself likely to follow in short order if the Competition Commission’s appeal is rejected.

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