Comms Ministry to meet telcos over reports of extra charges for 5G

KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications and Digital Ministry will meet local mobile network operators (MNOs) soon to discuss reported additional charges levied by telcos on 5G subscriptions, says minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said, however, not all MNOs are imposing the charges.

“Not all of them charge extra (on 5G subscriptions), I know YTL does not.

“I will be meeting with the chief executive officers soon… on this issue.

“We understand there might be some (integration issues) but we hope they can address these concerns,” he told a press conference after launching the Islamic Digital Economy Industry Conference 2023 here on Tuesday (Aug 22).

Fahmi jokingly added that even his wife questioned him about charges for switching to 5G from 4G.

“My wife is hesitant about taking up 5G, because she says when we converted from 3G to 4G, there were no charges but now, (she asks) why do we have to pay.

“It is a valid question, so I have to find an appropriate answer,” he said.

It was reported that certain telcos in the country have set additional charges for their customers to gain access and continue to be subscribed to the 5G network.

On a related matter, Fahmi said telcos are expected to announce affordable or Rahmah 5G packages on Aug 31.

“I have yet to meet the CEOs, but we have been very focused on getting both the 5G access agreement as well as equity participation in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to completion.

“Going forward, these are some of the discussions we intend to have.

“The MNOs are expected to announced their respective Rahmah 5G packages on National Day so by that time, we hope some of these things will be addressed,” he said.

In May, the government announced a policy decision to replace the single wholesale network with a dual network model once coverage of populated areas hits 80%.

Currently, the nation has hit 66.8% in terms of 5G network coverage and Fahmi said the government hoped to achieve the 80% target by year’s end.

He said under the dual network model, half the telcos in the country will be served under DNB.

He said the other half will rely on services provided by another platform to be announced later.