Following the revelation last month that the rollout of 5G technology in Malaysia will be undertaken by a special purpose vehicle, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has now confirmed that this entity will be licensed to operate under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998).
In a press release regarding the matter, the regulator sought to stress that DNB will be subject to regulatory oversight by the MCMC ‘just like any other licensee in the communications and multimedia industry, notwithstanding the fact that the entity is wholly owned by the Government’. According to the MCMC, it will regulate and monitor DNB via the relevant regulatory tools under the CMA 1998, with a view to ensuring both the optimum use of spectrum and that all communications providers have open, fair and equal access in obtaining wholesale 5G network services for the development of retail services.
Meanwhile, the regulator also confirmed in its statement on the matter that DNB will act as a ‘wholesale neutral party’ that enables other licensed telcos to focus on the latest technologies to develop innovative retail services. The manner in which these wholesale services are offered by DNB will also reportedly be ‘closely monitored’ by the MCMC under the provisions of the CMA 1998.