U Mobile will be terminating its network sharing agreement with Maxis in stages by the end of 2018.
This comes after U Mobile had sent a letter to terminate the Network Sharing and Alliance Agreement (NSA) it signed with Maxis in 2011. No reason was given for the termination, and was only made public after Maxis released a filing to Bursa Malaysia earlier today.
The NSA was signed by both parties in 2011 when U Mobile was first launched. It allowed U Mobile customers to ride on Maxis’ 3G network nationwide, as well as 4G networks when the technology was deployed. The agreement was seen as beneficial to both telcos, with cost-saving benefits as well as accelerated network deployment for U Mobile.
The multi-billion Ringgit agreement was due to terminate only in 2020.
According to the Bursa filing, the termination will take place in stages, and will be completed on 27 December 2018. The filing also states that this termination will not affect Maxis’ financial results for the year 2017.
We have reached out to U Mobile for comments on the matter, and will publish an update when we hear from them.
(Source: The Star)
Update 29 June: U Mobile has released the following statement regarding the termination of the agreement:
With our growing subscriber base, U Mobile has decided that it will be more appropriate to focus on expanding our own network, especially with the additional spectrum of 2x15MHz of 1800MHz bands and 2x5MHz of 900MHz bands that were awarded by the government last year. The additional 1800MHz was made available on 1 April 2017 whilst the 900MHz will be made available on 1 July 2017. We are currently upgrading our owned networks progressively to support these new spectrum bands so that our customers can enjoy an enhanced network experience when the spectrum bands are turned on and the upgrade is complete.
This notice to terminate the RAN share agreement is not expected to impact our customers’ network experience or our service quality to our customers. We expect to be able to replace the RAN share sites within the stipulated timeline as we continue with our planned network investment program. U Mobile customers can look forward to an enhanced network experience and coverage once the exercise is complete.
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