Last Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the government would be reviewing all monopolies in the country, in line with its recent actions to end the reigns of Touch ‘n Go and Puspakom as sole approved providers in their respective fields.
Since then, a lot of attention has turned towards Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the single 5G network provider in the country. This could be considered a monopoly, but the company can breathe a sigh of relief—for now. According to the New Straits Times, Digital and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government has yet to make a decision regarding DNB’s role.
“We have yet to make a policy decision and I hope we will be able to do so in a week or two,” he said. “We may not necessarily look only from the monopoly point of view, as there are many things we need to consider. Insya-Allah, we will announce it soon.”
It’s worth noting that DNB is fundamentally different from TnG and Puspakom. Whereas the others are independently-operated firms owned by government-linked companies (GLC)—TnG by CIMB, Puspakom by DRB-Hicom—DNB is itself owned by the government through the Ministry of Finance. That means the rollout of the 5G single wholesale network is being handled by the government itself rather than being assigned to a company with close ties to it.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that DNB is out of hot water. The government is currently reviewing the company’s controversial deployment of 5G, with Anwar promising it would be “run more transparently” to ensure full participation by telcos. Maxis has still yet to sign with DNB for 5G access, pledging to do so only after the said review has been completed.
Recently, DNB saw the departure of CEO Ralph Marshall, who stepped down after his contract expired earlier this month. The company has yet to replace Marshall, whose role is reportedly divided between two personnel. Fahmi has made clear that the appointment of his successor will be decided by its parent, the Ministry of Finance.
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