Malaysia’s first 5G network was launched this week was launched in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) to provide faster Internet for the nation.
State-owned wholesale provider and network operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) selected Ericsson’s cloud-native 5G Core and 5G Radio Access (RAN) for the implementation.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the 5G rollout will be expanded in stages until it reaches 36% nationwide coverage.
By next year, 5G will be deployed in give major cities and districts in Selangor, Penang, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. Another 17 cities will be covered by 2023.
The 5G network was initially planned for launch in 2020 but delayed for a year as the spectrum allocation was held back, with the change in government and onset of the pandemic.
The Malaysia government is targeting to provide an enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy under the 12th Malaysia plan, where digital investments is expected to contribute 25.5% of the digital economy in the country's GDP.
