Malaysia and Brunei have taken steps to nationalise their 5G networks

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Operators are trying to absorb the high capital expenditure expected by coverage expansion as 5G launches blast across the world.
As global population coverage reaches 45 percent, the GSMA anticipates that operators will spend $890 billion over the next five years.
As operators transition from non-standalone to standalone networks, and eventually to the use of mmWave spectrum, this cost is expected to rise.

 

The formation of joint ventures, the formation and use of towercos, the sale of tower assets for capital recycling, and the implementation of dynamic spectrum sharing are all strategies or innovations that have been implemented by both the government and corporations to raise capital or reduce capital expenditure.

In this regard, Malaysia and Brunei set a precedent in Asia-Pacific by constructing a nationalised single wholesale network (SWN), which is effectively a national towerco that will own the tower, backhaul, and spectrum assets and offer access to operators on a wholesale basis.

 

Brunei and Malaysia came to the SWN method through distinct paths.

In 2019, Brunei separated and consolidated all telecommunications infrastructure under the state-owned Unified National Networks (UNN).
The goal of this action is to level the playing field for the three telcos that will now primarily focus on retail services – TelBru, DST, and Progresif.
Meanwhile, UNN has made a commitment to modernising its network infrastructure and increasing service to previously unserved areas.
As a result, UNN is in charge of 5G deployment.

 

Following Malaysia's Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration's bungled 5G spectrum allocation, which was mired in controversy after awarding spectrum to Altel, a firm controlled by politically well-connected billionaire Syed Mokhtar, without an open tender, the PN administration under then-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin changed tack, voiding the spectrum allocations and then announcing in a statement that the allocations were void. The switch to a SWN strategy appears to be a face-saving manoeuvre in some regards.

 

Because the three telcos were already state-owned and under the authority of Darussalam Assets, the government holding company, before the formation of UNN, the sector reorganisation will have a less severe impact on the competitive dynamics in Brunei.
DNB, on the other hand, will be a major changer for Malaysia's telecom sector, which currently has six MNOs (five if Celcom and Digi's merger goes through) and a vibrant MVNO landscape.