Kuala Lumpur, 10 November 2024 – Following its statement on 2 November 2024, U Mobile reiterates its gratitude to the Malaysian government and MCMC for their trust in the company to lead the rollout of Malaysia’s second 5G network. U Mobile believes it is in the best position to be the country’s second 5G network provider.

As previously highlighted, U Mobile is committed to local partnerships and Straits Mobile Investment Pte Ltd (wholly owned by ST Telemedia) has agreed to the strategic alignment of its shareholding ownership to 20%, increasing U Mobile’s Malaysian ownership. U Mobile is ready to spearhead the second 5G network in line with national priorities by strengthening local engagement and participation in critical telecommunications infrastructure.

While foreign ownership is common in the telco sector, U Mobile’s strategy prioritises Malaysian industry development and strengthening of local ownership. This increased local partnership supports U Mobile’s dedication to national interests.

Establishing Malaysia’s Second 5G Network

With its track record of over 17 years of innovation, growth and network expansion, U Mobile is confident that it will be able to deliver rapid and cost efficient 5G rollout for Malaysia. Being the most recent entrant and market challenger to the industry, U Mobile’s subscriber base reached 9 million customers at the end 2023. With more than RM5 billion invested in its network infrastructure, U Mobile currently has over 10,000 network sites and its national population coverage stands at 95%, on par with its industry peers, supported by a staff strength of over 1,000 Malaysian employees.

The Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model was introduced in 2021, designated by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), a wholly owned unit of the Ministry of Finance, to be the sole operator responsible for managing and providing wholesale 5G network services to all mobile network operators (MNOs).

By establishing a second network, Malaysia moves away from a monopolistic model towards a comprehensive competitive landscape. Over the years, competition in the telecommunications industry has always led to improved and cheaper services to consumers. Competition also forces telcos to innovate products and capabilities.

Championing Affordable, World-Class Connectivity for Every Malaysian  

U Mobile’s success can be attributed to several factors. As the most recent late entrant and market challenger, U Mobile has been an industry champion of affordability by offering products and services that are of similar or better specifications but at a 20 to 25 percent reduction below competitor prices, an approach that the telco still implements today. As a result, Malaysians are enjoying better, innovative services at more affordable prices.

U Mobile is a champion of inclusivity and quality, bridging the digital divide across the country. Key highlights include being the first to offer 5G for all Malaysians at no additional cost, being pioneers of affordable unlimited data plans and innovating on network sharing methods.

Strong Private Sector Financial backing

U Mobile also attributes its ability to continuously develop and expand due to the robust financial backing from its shareholders, financial institutions such as UOB, CIMB and AmBank, as well as strategic vendor partners who enable the telco to continuously innovate to stay competitive and to meet network deployment targets. The telco has achieved consistent growth, with its EBITDA turning positive since 2017, with a track record of strong operating cash flow.

U Mobile is confident that the strong shareholders, financial institutions and vendor partners who have supported the telco thus far will continue to provide long-term support to advance the deployment of the second 5G network.

Rapid Network Deployment, Expansion and Enhancement

U Mobile has invested over RM5 billion in its network infrastructure, expanding its national population coverage from 67.5% in 2018 to 95% by early 2024, and has installed over 10,000 sites to date. This places it on par and competitively with its peers. U Mobile prides itself for constantly investing in its network to make it AI-powered and more autonomous.

U Mobile, with its shareholders and vendor partners have successfully completed its national 3G and 4G network rollouts and are committed to invest in the 5G deployment, using private sector funding only.

Committed to Nation building

U Mobile is a key participant in the government’s JENDELA initiative and Universal Service Provision (USP) programme to enhance customer experience and narrow the digital divide. Through these government initiatives which aimed to broaden 4G coverage and improve broadband quality, especially in underserved areas, U Mobile has again shown leadership in meeting ambitious rollout targets.

The telco has launched subscriber plans as low as RM15/month to drive digital adoption. In addition, U Mobile is also a frequent partner for 4G MOCN services, providing free connectivity to in-need communities and actively supporting government initiatives such as Pakej Rahmah Siswa and Pakej Rahmah P-Hailing.

U Mobile was founded to positively challenge the industry. After more than 17 years and more than RM5 billion invested, U Mobile remains committed to continual innovation and investment with the aim of raising industry standards.

U Mobile is confident that the second 5G network will translate into better and more affordable services to the public through healthy and sustained competition. Finally, U Mobile will continue to innovate products and services whilst actively deploying the second 5G network, and would like to assure all stakeholders that it will continue to be well supported with no reliance on Government funding.