Malaysian mobile network operator (MNO) DiGi Telecommunications has accepted the offer of new spectrum assignments from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Sun Daily reports citing a stock exchange filing by the company.
DiGi has now made the MYR598.55 million (USD143 million) payment for the one-time fee component of its new frequencies, which comprise 2×5MHz in the 900MHz band and 2×20MHz in the 1800MHz band, and are valid for 15 years from 1 July 2017. With regards to funding for the initial charge, the company was cited as saying: ‘The board of directors of DiGi has decided to fund the one-time fee component mainly through its existing borrowing facilities and to maintain healthy net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 1.0 time.’ Alongside the upfront fee, DiGi will also be required to pay an annual fee component of MYR51.48 million.