U Mobile has gotten funding to deploy Malaysia’s second 5G network. According to the orange telco, they have secured RM4.3 billion syndicated financing facility with CIMB, Maybank, AmBank and UOB Malaysia and it represents the largest Ringgit-denominated syndicated financing undertaken by an unlisted company in Malaysia.
It added that the 10-year financing facility will mainly fund their CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and working capacity as they accelerate the deployment of their next gen 5G network, which is branded as ULTRA5G.
To recap, U Mobile was appointed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as the telco to rollout the nation’s second 5G network which will compete against Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). It received the green light to begin its rollout in March 2025.
RM4.3 bil to support U Mobile’s rollout to hit 80% 5G population coverage by H2 2026
According to U Mobile CEO Wong Heang Tuck, U Mobile is currently ahead in their network rollout targets and the facility will further strengthen its ability to achieve 80% nationwide Coverage of Populated Areas (CoPA) by the second half of 2026, and to support the expansion of their ULTRA5G experience.
He thanked the banks for their support as it underscores their strong confidence in U Mobile’s execution capability, growth plans and commitment to delivering Malaysia’s widest and deepest next-gen 5G network for both outdoor and indoor coverage.
Fahmi: U Mobile has achieved 58.2% 5G populated coverage
While U Mobile has not revealed its current 5G roll out progress, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil revealed in Parliament that the orange telco has already achieved 58.2% 5G population coverage as of 31st October 2025.
He said U Mobile has achieved this with 2,976 upgraded sites while 11 buildings have been equipped with 5G infrastructure.
Fahmi also shared that U Mobile Sdn Bhd must achieve 80% 5G population coverage within the first year of operations with plans to upgrade 6,515 sites. He added that the telco must hit 95% by the third year.
As we’ve highlighted last month when U Mobile claimed to have achieved 54.9% 5G population coverage, this seems to be one of the world’s fastest 5G rollout.
For a comparison, DNB took over a year to achieve close to 50% 5G population coverage with a total of 3,900 sites. The then Single wholesale 5G network, achieved its 80% 5G population coverage milestone at end of December 2023, which is about 2 years after the network went live.
However, the question remains about the real-world availability of U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network. The orange telco was claimed to have achieved over 90% 5G population coverage in Kuala Lumpur, but our tests reveal otherwise. Out of 19 locations tested, we could only get “UM ULTRA5G” at 5 locations (26.3%) at various prime locations of KL.
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