Telekom Malaysia has announced the signing of a ’fibre leasing service agreement’ with state-owned wholesale 5G network operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), in an attempt to speed up the deployment of the latter’s 5G network across the country. In a press release regarding the development, TM said that the term sheet agreement had a total contract value of MYR2 billion (USD474 million) over ten years. Under the terms of the deal, TM will provide DNB with 5G fibre leasing services for connectivity between DNB’s 5G mobile sites and nodes, leveraging on TM’s domestic fibre cable network, which spans more than 640,000km throughout Malaysia. Meanwhile, DNB will reportedly be able to subscribe to TM’s 5G RAN-to-Edge Fronthaul and Backhaul solution for the provision of fibre connectivity, enabling the former to provide 5G network services nationwide.
Commenting on the matter, Telekom Malaysia’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Imri Mokhtar, said: ‘Today’s signing further reinforces the government’s aspiration of putting in place Malaysia’s digital infrastructure and network. We have always been a strong advocate of infrastructure sharing in providing connectivity services and end-to-end solutions, to enable excellent wireless solutions and services … As DNB’s selected partner in implementing the government’s 5G network rollout plan in Malaysia, the signing of this fibre agreement is testament to our advanced network technology and workforce capabilities in delivering fibre solutions throughout the country.’
Meanwhile, Imri also confirmed TM’s intention to offer 5G services over the DNB network, with the executive cited as saying: ‘TM is also excited to utilise DNB’s 5G network to provide 5G services and solutions to our home, SME, enterprise and public sector customers. With the launch of DNB 5G network services yesterday, we will be able to test the 5G network and offer services on a trial basis in selected areas across Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.’