MCMC, MIDA to ink deal helping entrepreneurs adopt 5G — Fahmi
21 May 2024
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority will sign a memorandum of understanding to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) adopt 5G for their businesses, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
He said the MoU will be inked soon, within a week or two.
“This is in the process, since we have reached over 80 per cent COPA (coverage of populated areas) and since the adoption at this time is satisfactory… but it can be improved.
“The next step is for telcos or mobile network operators to complete the share subscription agreement process, their equity holdings in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB),” he said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting here today.
Fahmi said the Cabinet was informed the first meeting of the DNB board of directors was held yesterday where each of the five telcos was represented by a board member and given 20 days to make a decision.
“We hope to complete and finalise the equity holdings of the telcos.
“One of the conditions imposed on the telcos that want to be involved in the second network is they must complete this share subscription, that is, the equity holdings in DNB.
“Soon, the MCMC will announce a tender process that will allow companies that want to be involved in bidding for the second network,” he said.
Fahmi said the decision made today was a follow-up to decisions made on May 3 and August 23 last year, where the Cabinet agreed the implementation of the 5G network will shift from a single network to a dual network.
He said up till April 30 this year, the 5G network COPA had reached 81.5 per cent, while the acceptance or adoption rate for the 5G network reached 39.2 per cent.
“This is a 3.8 per cent increase compared with the end of March this year, which means as of the end of April, there are 13.2 million 5G accounts in our country.”
Source: Bernama