Malaysian Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced in a parliamentary speech that telecommunication companies automatically providing 5G services to their customers have achieved an impressive adoption rate of over 50% among subscribers with compatible 5G devices.
Citing a report from Ookla, a prominent connectivity intelligence firm, Fahmi highlighted that telcos not automatically offering 5G services registered only around a 50% adoption rate among customers equipped with 5G-capable devices.
Fahmi elaborated on the service providers’ 5G approaches in his speech. Currently, Yes, U Mobile, and Unifi are offering 5G automatically to their users, while Maxis and CelcomDigi have introduced additional charges for selected customers who wish to subscribe or upgrade to 5G.
The Ookla report, published on October 30, disclosed a significant disparity in 5G adoption. Despite approximately half their subscriber bases owning 5G-capable devices, only 16.7% of Celcom’s and 21.6% of Digi’s customers conducted 5G speed tests in Q3 2023. Even Maxis, with the highest percentage of customers possessing 5G-capable devices (62.8%), saw only 33% of its customers engage in 5G speed tests.
This emphasizes the need for telcos to automatically include 5G services for users without imposing additional charges. Ookla also noted that for these operators, “approximately 30% of their customer base owning 5G-capable devices have yet to initiate a speed test on the 5G network. There is an opportunity to transition these customers to adopt 5G as they likely have not yet subscribed or reside in areas without 5G coverage.” These companies have been charging an additional fee ranging from RM10 to RM20 monthly for customers on lower-tier plans to upgrade to 5G.
Ookla’s report revealed that Yes boasts 53.3% of users with 5G devices who conducted 5G speed tests in Q3 2023, while the figure is 40.7% for U Mobile and 38.9% for Unifi.
Minister Fahmi took the opportunity to provide an update on the country’s 5G network coverage, indicating that as of September, Digital Nasional Berhad, the nation’s wholesale 5G network operator, has achieved a network coverage of 70.2% in populated areas. He also stated that the country remains on track to achieve 80% 5G network coverage by the end of the year.
He concluded his speech by highlighting the growth of 5G adoption in Malaysia, stating, “As of September 30, 2023, the utilization or adoption rate of 5G is at 9.1%, which represents a 9-fold increase compared to the adoption rate (1%) at the end of 2022.” Additionally, the government has introduced the 5G Rahmah package, which offers affordable rates to low-income groups and civil servants. As of September 30, there have been a total of 50,991 5G Rahmah Package subscriptions, with 42,649 or 42% of the total quota dedicated to the B40 group under the package. This initiative aims to further boost 5G adoption in the country.
