5G NETWORK services by Digital National Berhard (DNB) are expected to be cheaper for consumers and more profitable for telecommunications operators (telcos), said Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The Finance Minister said it would cost telcos less than 20 sen per gigabyte for 5G, which is much cheaper than the incremental cost of 45 sen to 55 sen per gigabyte offered by telcos for 4G services.
“This means that the telcos will enjoy savings of more than 50% and will be able to lower the cost for their customers while paying more dividends to their shareholders,” he said when answering a question by Lukanisman Awang Sauni (GPS-Sibuti) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Pricing, Tengku Zafrul noted, was almost finalised and awaiting approval from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“It will be very different and cheaper.
“I believe that the telcos will welcome the announcement of the fixed price soon,” he added.
He also noted that MCMC, which was overseeing the project, would ensure that the price offered was “fair” and geared towards development recovery rather than profit.
Tengku Zafrul’s announcement came amidst claims of the lukewarm response by telcos over transparency and pricing offered by (DNB).
DNB was set up in February this year as the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) provider tasked with developing the 5G network.
“The government is aware of the SWN-related issues and challenges faced by telcos in other countries and has taken steps to ensure that the same mistakes do not happen in Malaysia,” Tengku Zafrul said.
Under DNB’s 5G development model, he said telco companies here would repay DBN’s investment cost of RM3.5bil to RM4bil over a period of 10 years.
“This amounts to between RM350mil and 400mil a year, which is much less than the RM1bil invested by telcos a year to develop 4G,” he added.
Last week, Tengku Zafrul said he had directed DNB to provide a briefing on its 5G rollout plan following numerous questions raised in and outside the Dewan Rakyat over the project.
DNB targets rolling out 5G coverage to more than 80% of the populated areas nationwide by 2024.