KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): CelcomDigi Bhd said it is “considering several options at hand” on 5G without naming them, after the government picked U Mobile Sdn Bhd to lead Malaysia’s second 5G network.
“Our priority remains to ensure that our customers have affordable access to a competitive, robust, and efficient 5G network. We will discuss with various stakeholders to consider several viable options ahead of us, to the benefit of our customers and shareholders,” CelcomDigi said in a statement on Sunday.
CelcomDigi also said the fact that it was not selected to lead the second 5G network “will have no impact” on its 5G customers, who “will be able to continue accessing and enjoying 5G services as usual”.
The statement made no mention of whether those options include taking an equity stake in U Mobile, which on Saturday (Nov 2) said it would reduce its foreign majority shareholding to 20% to ensure greater Malaysian control and invite participation from local investors.
On Friday (Nov 1), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that U Mobile had been selected to lead the second 5G network after conducting detailed technical and commercial evaluation.
U Mobile had in a separate statement on Saturday said it is excited to collaborate with various stakeholders, including the MCMC and other telecommunications companies such as CelcomDigi Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd to deliver 5G advanced services to consumers.
In the meantime, CelcomDigi in Sunday’s statement said that it will “continue to focus on merger integration to realise savings and synergy targets and continue delivering the best possible experience to our customers”, noting that its network integration is 68% complete with 65% of its customers benefitting from “improved experience on the new CelcomDigi intelligent network”.
“CelcomDigi remains committed to the sustainability of the industry and to drive the nation’s transformation into a 5G-AI powered digital society,” it added. “Our priority remains to ensure that our customers have affordable access to a competitive, robust, and efficient 5G network.”
In June, CelcomDigi completed a conditional share subscription agreement with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) — the first 5G network — signing the shareholders’ agreement for an equity stake in DNB in support of the government’s transition from a single wholesale network to a dual 5G network model.
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