TM has recently issued a termination notice to Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) of its share subscription agreement (SSA), which would be made effective immediately. Despite this, the company noted that its 5G access agreement with the latter still stands, assuring customers that its existing 5G services via Unifi are unaffected.
This makes the local telco the second company apart from CelcomDigi to announce the termination of its SSA with the state-owned 5G service provider, not long after the government’s decision to transition from a Single Wholesale Network to a dual 5G network model. Both companies, along with YTL Communications, originally signed a deal to acquire an equity stake with DNB back in October of last year. The initial agreement would see TM take 20% stake, while CelcomDigi and YTL get 25% and 20% respectively.
In a separate statement, TM said it would look forward to the next process and discussion with the government as well as the industry across Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the new dual-network 5G implementation. For context, the first phase concerns DNB’s goal of achieving 80% service coverage in populated areas, while the second is the shift to two networks. The company adds that it is committed to continue playing an active role in the implementation, leveraging on its nationwide fibre infrastructure, extensive digital platforms and rollout experience.
Meanwhile, Communications and Digital minister Fahmi Fadzil assured that neither TM or CelcomDigi’s equity deal termination with DNB would not affect the country’s 5G network implementation or the latter’s coverage goal. A new discussion with telco companies will start as the terms are different now, he added.
In a statement released yesterday, the minister noted that progress of the rollout at this current time has reached 59.5%, while the number of sites have reached 61.7% as of 30 April 2023. Additionally, Fahmi also previously announced that a special task force will be formed to oversee the implementation process of the 5G network in the country, as well as to ensure a smooth transition towards the new dual network model that’s slated to be implemented by early 2024.
(Source: TM [1] [2] / Bernama)
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