Vincent Tan tears into
Muhyiddin govt for
pushing single 5G network
The U Mobile chairman says telcos were willing to fund the 5G rollout on their own, but Muhyiddin Yassin’s government insisted on a DNB monopoly funded by taxpayers.
Tan said mobile network operators were previously ready to roll out 5G at their own expense, but the Perikatan Nasional-led government insisted on a single network, implemented and monopolised by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), using taxpayers’ funds.
“RM4 billion has been spent to date and RM12.5 billion more has been planned through various contracts by DNB over a period of 10 years. In total, RM16.5 billion of taxpayers’ money are at stake.
“The monopolistic single network model chosen by the Muhyiddin administration was against global best practices. The monopolistic single wholesale network model has failed in other countries.
“While it will be a waste of resources if all major telcos were to invest in separate 5G networks, it is certainly too risky to have just one 5G network for the entire nation,” he said in a statement.
The Berjaya Corp founder said having two 5G networks provided competition which would lead to improvements and innovation on both sides, which in turn would see consumers getting the best service possible.
Tan lauded the unity government’s courage in breaking up DNB’s monopoly and reiterated that U Mobile’s rollout of the second network will not involve public funds.
In defending U Mobile’s selection, Tan said the telco had nine million subscribers at the end of 2023, with over 10,000 network sites across the country.
“At 95% network population coverage, U Mobile is on par with CelcomDigi and Maxis,” he added.
He also cited the company’s revenue and net profit of RM3.5 billion and RM102 million respectively in 2023. Its total assets stood at RM6.2 billion and its share capital was RM2.6 billion.
Tan said U Mobile was also the first telco to offer 5G services at no additional costs to customers, while its usual packages were about 20% to 25% cheaper than its competitors.
Concerning the paring of Straits Mobile Investment Pte Ltd’s shareholding in U Mobile from 49% to 20%, the tycoon pointed out that Norway’s Telenor had a 33% stake in CelcomDigi currently.
Tan also urged against irresponsible comments against Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, whom he said had been having a stake in U Mobile since 2015 — nine years before he was installed as the Agong.
“As we encourage healthy public discourse, we must also urge any comments involving our king to be made responsibly based on facts, not wild accusations,” he said.
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