KUALA LUMPUR, — Opposition MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has alleged that the government’s plan to establish a second 5G network is flawed, claiming a conflict of interest among the applicants.
As announced by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil recently, Malaysia has started the process of transitioning from a 5G single wholesale network to a Dual Network model, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been instructed to start the tender process for the second network on July 1, 2024.
According to Wan Fayhsal, the government may be creating a conflict of interest by appointing a telco, currently participating in DNB, to build a competing 5G network. He shared that telcos participating in Digital Nasional Berhad (via share subscription agreement) would have access to inside information of all technical, financial and legal due diligence carried out on DNB. As a result, this gives the telcos an unfair advantage over DNB.
The Machang MP added that with Maxis, CelcomDigi, and U Mobile representatives on DNB’s board of directors, they would have a say in the management of DNB, which they could use to their advantage when building and operating the second 5G network. He also said that given CelcomDigi, Maxis and U Mobile collectively control 90 per cent market share of the mobile telco subscriptions, the successful applicant would be bound to channel their subscribers to the second 5G network, creating a disadvantage to DNB.