PUTRAJAYA – The government is expected to announce the transition from the single-wholesale network to the dual network for the nation’s 5G roll-out within this month after the country reached 80.2% coverage of populated areas (CoPA) in December last year.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the cabinet would make the announcement after reviewing the findings of the 5G Special Task Force meeting scheduled for this Friday.
The Friday meeting – presided over by the secretaries-general of the finance and communications ministries, along with government-owned special purpose vehicle Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), the Communications and Multimedia Commission and mobile network operators – is aimed at charting the future course of the nation’s 5G implementation.
Fahmi emphasised the pivotal role of this meeting in shaping the country’s 5G network coverage, indicating that the cabinet would be informed of the outcomes before any official transition announcement.
“This meeting will determine the direction of the country’s 5G network coverage. The outcome of the meeting will be communicated to the cabinet before the government considers announcing the transition from one wholesale network to dual networks. We expect this to happen maybe within this month,” he said at a press conference, here, today.
“The creation of the second network hinges on meeting specific conditions set by this committee. Although the process is lengthy, I am proud of DNB’s dedicated efforts.”
As of December 31, the 5G network’s implementation has achieved 80.2% CoPA, surpassing the target set by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in February last year.
Anwar had set a target of at least 80% coverage by the end of 2023. – January 10, 2024