Celcom Axiata, Digi Telecommunications, Maxis and U Mobile have confirmed that they are in continued discussions with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over the terms of access to the country’s wholesale 5G network.
State-backed Digital Nasional Berhand (DNB) is deploying Malaysia’s only 5G network, with operators forming commercial access agreements in order to offer services. Following DNB’s recent proposals on a 5G reference access offer (RAO), the four main operators have now jointly stated that they will begin negotiating such agreements once the terms of the RAO have been finalised.
The statement said that the operators “remain in discussions with MCMC to seek more clarity on some of the details in the published RAO … A recent analyst report may suggest that open topics between DNB and its key prospective customers had been resolved, but this interpretation would be inaccurate.”
CommsUpdate noted that the operators have expressed concern that the current framework of the RAO would make 5G pricing unaffordable for both consumers and enterprises, which would likely stymie adoption of the technology standard in the market.
On this note, the operators said that “a majority of concerns and issues previously raised with MCMC and DNB have not yet been adequately addressed … including key principles proposed for the RAO to be consistent with industry best practices.”
