Reuters has signed up for Telekom Malaysia to conduct 5G tests in the country

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Telekom Malaysia said on Saturday it would conduct 5G tests with a state agency ahead of schedule for 5G network services this month.

The telecommunications company said it would take part in pilot tests in some parts of the capital Kuala Lumpur and two other cities.

It is the first telecommunications operator to sign up for 5G testing. However, he did not say whether the government had signed a long-term agreement on the use of the government’s 5G network.

“We will continue to support the government’s desire to provide 5G to the nation,” he said.

Malaysia’s leading mobile carriers have expressed concern over transparency and pricing issues, Reuters reported last month.

Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the state-owned wholesale network of 5G, last month confirmed that no agreement had been reached with the carriers, and admitted that the initial deadline for negotiations was “too optimistic”.

He also said that negotiations with telecommunications companies had not yet begun and that long-term agreements were expected to be signed in early 2022.

The blockade came in the wake of a government decision in February to build a centralized 5G wholesale DNB network, overturning earlier plans to distribute spectrum to carriers with the aim of speeding up infrastructure nationwide.

The government has said that the price of 5G would be cheaper for mobile operators than the cost for 4G operators.