Malaysia's Telcos and the 5G Network: CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile

Malaysia spent three years running its entire 5G rollout through a single government-owned pipe — then, over one intense stretch of policy, tore that model up, handed a second network to its smallest major operator, and walked away from the state’s shareholding altogether. The result is a mobile market that looks nothing like it did in 2021.

Who actually runs Malaysia’s mobile networks?

For years Malaysia had four national mobile operators. That became three when Celcom and Digi combined. Axiata and Telenor announced the completed merger on 30 November 2022, each holding 33.1% of the new entity, CelcomDigi. On a pro forma basis the merged company served roughly 20 million customers with about RM13.0 billion in revenue — instantly Malaysia’s largest mobile operator and the largest local listed technology company on Bursa Malaysia.

That left three players who now compete for retail customers:

Operator	Formed / ownership	Position	5G approach
CelcomDigi	Celcom + Digi merger (Nov 2022); Axiata and Telenor 33.1% each	Largest by subscribers (~20 million)	Runs on DNB; became a DNB shareholder
Maxis	Long-established listed operator	Second-largest	Runs on DNB; became a DNB shareholder
U Mobile	Privately held; third-largest	Smallest of the three	Building and running Malaysia’s second 5G network

The key thing to understand is that in Malaysia, owning subscribers and owning the network you run them on became two separate questions after 2021 — and answering both is what the last few years have been about.

Why did Malaysia start with just one 5G network?

Rather than let each telco build its own 5G, the government created a single wholesale network. Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) was established in 2021 and designated the sole 5G wholesale provider under Ministerial Direction No. 3 of 2021. The idea was to avoid duplicated infrastructure, speed up coverage, and let all operators buy capacity from one shared network at regulated prices.

DNB was reported to carry a budget of around RM16.5 billion over ten years and to have spent roughly RM5 billion on the network by the time the model was reviewed. It made real progress on the ground: the Communications Ministry reported 5G coverage of 68.8% of populated areas as of 31 August 2023, built out across 5,724 sites.

But the single-network design drew persistent criticism — over transparency, pricing, and the risk of concentrating national infrastructure in one entity. That pressure set up the pivot.

What changed with the “dual network” decision?

Instead of one network everyone shares, Malaysia decided to have two networks that compete. The mechanics unfolded quickly (dates below trace to MCMC’s second-network award announcement and the subsequent revocation of the single-wholesale-network direction):

• 21 June 2024 — a ministerial direction set out the spectrum a second-network winner would receive (per MCMC’s award announcement).
• 1 July 2024 — MCMC issued its Applicant Information Package, opening the tender.
• 1 November 2024 — MCMC announced U Mobile as the winner of the second 5G network.
• 31 December 2024 — Ministerial Direction No. 4 of 2024 revoked the 2021 single-wholesale-network direction, formally ending DNB’s monopoly and enshrining the dual-network model.

Four operators bid for the second network — CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile and Telekom Malaysia. MCMC selected U Mobile after what it described as a rigorous review of technical and commercial plans, and allocated it 700MHz (a 2×20MHz block) and 3.5GHz (a 100MHz block) to build the network.

Winning came with a condition: U Mobile had to divest its stake in DNB and leave that network to concentrate on its own. In May 2025 it divested its DNB shareholding and offboarded from the network, leaving CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL each holding 19.44%. U Mobile launched its ULTRA5G network on 18 August 2025, going live first at Berjaya Times Square, which it billed as the country’s first fully 5G-enabled shopping centre.

What happened to DNB after the government stepped back?

The single-network entity survived, but its ownership flipped from public to private. As DNB transitioned, the telcos that use it took equity in it — the pre-exit structure was reported to have MoF Inc holding 41.67% and CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL each holding 19.44%.

The final step was the government’s exit. The Ministry of Finance triggered its put option in December 2025, and on 7 March 2026 CelcomDigi and Maxis each completed the purchase of MoF Inc’s shares for RM327,872,640.28 apiece. That transaction marked the government’s departure from the 5G wholesale business and turned DNB into a fully private company owned by the telcos and YTL.

So Malaysia ended up with two 5G networks under very different ownership: DNB, now collectively owned by CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL; and U Mobile’s network, owned and run by U Mobile alone.

What does the dual-network market look like for users?

Coverage kept climbing through the transition. The Communications Ministry reported 5G coverage of populated areas at 82.4% as of 31 July 2025, with DNB having completed 7,489 transmitter sites — and internet coverage of populated areas near 99%. By that date, 5G mobile-broadband penetration stood at 82.7 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.

For a typical consumer, the practical picture is:

• CelcomDigi and Maxis customers ride primarily on DNB’s network.
• U Mobile customers ride on U Mobile’s own second network.
• Competition between two networks is meant to improve quality of service and push coverage into underserved and rural areas — the stated rationale for the dual-network switch.

The trade-off is the classic one the single-network model was designed to avoid: two networks mean some duplicated infrastructure and capital spending, paid for privately rather than through one shared, government-backed build.

What’s next

The dual-network era is young, and several threads are still unspooling. U Mobile’s rollout is in its early phases and its coverage and quality relative to DNB will be the real test of whether competition delivers. DNB, now privately held by its telco users, has to prove a sustainable commercial model outside government ownership. And regulators at MCMC will keep shaping spectrum, pricing and coverage obligations across both networks.

For the most current figures, check MCMC and Communications Ministry statements directly — coverage percentages, site counts and subscriber numbers move quarter to quarter, and this article records the structural shape of the market rather than a live scoreboard. If you are comparing plans as a consumer, the network your operator runs on now matters as much as the brand on your SIM.