Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Ministry plans to implement 5G nationwide by March 2023

The Communications and Digital Ministry is expected to introduce and implement 5G by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) along with added features by the end of March.

According to local news site Bernama TV who interviewed minister Fahmi Fadzil, DNB is doing its research on all available options to make sure the implementation will achieve over 80 per cent success and that it will be able to be expanded nationwide. 

"We want to make sure there will be no negative effect on the nation's finance, and we hope by 2025, there will be at least 80 per cent coverage in populated areas," he said.

He added that the implementation of 5G will help the companies and factories achieve achieve efficient and fast communication services in order to increase productivity.

"I have seen how 5G is being used by local governments to assist in issues of traffic, since data reaches the center that manages the administration of traffic lights more efficiently and we can monitor the condition of the entire city in real time," he said. He added that 5G offers many added benefits especially to factories and oil rigs. 

The news comes shortly after DNB found itself in the hot seat for a 5G coverage claim that received public skepticism online as well as from Fadzil. Then, Fadzil took to his Twitter account to call out DNB on its claims after a disgruntled netizen expressed his frustration on a tweet regarding the slow data connection he was facing. 

Notable executives, such as the former managing editor of news and current affairs Datuk Seri Mohd Ashraf Abdullah of Media Prima Bhd's Television Networks group tweeted at the time, “I live in Denai Alam, Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor. I hardly get three bars on my 4G network. Now DNB says it has achieved 50 per cent 5G coverage. Can DNB release the list of areas which it claims have 5G coverage so we can check it out?" and tagged Fadzil. These were a few among a slew of other tweets that showed the disappointed netizens were facing against DNB.

Since the emergence of the frustrations by netizens, Fahmi responded, asking for an explanation regarding how DNB concluded with its claim of achieving nearly 50% coverage. Fahmi also said in his tweet that DNB should publish its claims without verification by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

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