Telekom Malaysia (TM) is the second telco in Malaysia to offer commercial 5G services after it signed the 5G Access Agreement with Digital Nasional Berhad. Its Unifi Mobile service has started offering unlimited 5G data on postpaid and prepaid since yesterday, 31st October 2022.
Commenting on the launch of commercial 5G services, TM CEO Imri Mokhtar said the DNB’s Access Agreement provides a level playing field for telcos to access the single 5G network equally, to deliver a wider range of innovative services. He said with an equal entry into 5G along with their current suite of connectivity and digital solutions, TM will be better placed to drive innovation and digital transformation at the national level while aligning with key digital programmes such as JENDELA and MyDigital to position Malaysia as a technology hub.
“5G will reinforce TM’s leadership in fixed-mobile converged services for our consumer and MSME segments, strengthening our mobile capabilities to provide the widest and fastest all-in-one solution for fixed broadband, mobile service and digital content that meets today’s digital lifestyles and workstyles,” Imri added.
TM acknowledges that one of the critical factors in 5G adoption is the willingness of customers to purchase new 5G-enabled smartphones. To address this, TM says they are offering 5G devices with its Unifi Mobile postpaid offering to cater to a range of price points to ensure customer affordability from all backgrounds. At the moment, TM is only bundling six 5G devices – the Galaxy A22 5G, Vivo Y77 5G, Xiaomi 11T 5G, Oppo Reno 8 Z 5G, Vivo Y02S and Y15A.
At the moment, consumers can enjoy free unlimited 5G data by purchasing the “BEBAS Monthly” pass on prepaid for RM35/month or subscribing to Unifi Mobile Postpaid Ultimate Plan which costs RM79/month, or RM59/month with a 12-month contract. The free 5G data is currently offered as a user trial which will be available until 31st December 2022. Do note that only selected 5G smartphones are selected and you can view the full list here.
For the enterprise and government sector, TM has also launched 5G Sphere, a circle of leading technology and smart solutions providers to form an ecosystem that will accelerate the co-creation of 5G innovative use cases via TM One which now has 39 partners on board. It added that they are working closely with the government to speed up the availability of smart city, smart industry and 5G-enabled applications, to create a more sustainable and inclusive digital society and economy.
Besides 5G, TM said it would continue to modernise the country’s fibre network architecture, integrating automation and virtualization technologies to boost back-end infrastructure to support the anticipated demand for 5G services and capabilities. DNB which is the national 5G single wholesale network, has signed a RM2 billion fibre leasing deal with TM for its 5G deployment.
Apart from TM, other telcos including Celcom, Digi and U Mobile have also signed their respective Access Agreements. Celcom has started offering 5G today (1st November) while U Mobile will enable 5G for selected postpaid and prepaid plans from Thursday (3rd November). Digi says they are still conducting network testing, while Maxis has yet to sign the access agreement pending assessment of governance requirements for the agreement.
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