KUALA LUMPUR — By 2024, eight out of every ten Malaysians should have access to a 5G signal. That is the target embedded in the RM11 billion contract Digital Nasional Bhd awarded to Ericsson on June 29. The Swedish company will build the country’s entire fifth-generation network from scratch.
The project aims to create 100,000 jobs. That figure alone makes the decision a major economic bet. Ericsson will design and develop the network’s core, its radio transmission and transport systems, and the business and operations support software. DNB, the special-purpose vehicle set up by the government, will own the infrastructure.
Service starts this year in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Cyberjaya. Those three areas will be the test bed. If the rollout slips or the technology underperforms there, the national timetable comes under pressure.
The choice of Ericsson over Huawei was not a technical surprise. Malaysia barred Huawei from bidding on government 5G contracts in February. A cybersecurity laboratory with the Chinese firm was announced the same month, but the ban held. Security concerns about Huawei’s ties to Beijing drove the exclusion. Ericsson faced no such barrier.
Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Chairman David Hagbro said critical network infrastructure is essential for the country’s transition to a digital economy. The company believes 5G will deliver faster connections, ultra-low latency, and higher bandwidth. Malaysian entrepreneurs, the thinking goes, will use that capacity to build applications that benefit consumers and support local businesses.
That is the optimistic case. The harder question is whether the network can hit 80 percent population coverage in three years. Malaysia’s geography is not uniform. The peninsula’s west coast is dense; the interior and East Malaysia are not. Building out to remote areas on that timeline is a logistical challenge, not a marketing one.
The RM11 billion price tag also raises questions about cost recovery. DNB is a single wholesale network. Mobile operators will buy access from it rather than build their own towers. That model keeps duplication low but concentrates risk. If operators balk at the wholesale price, or if take-up is slow, the investment takes longer to recoup.
Huawei’s exclusion has diplomatic dimensions. China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner. Blocking its flagship tech company from a national infrastructure project sends a signal. Whether that signal complicates other bilateral dealings is a matter the government will have to manage quietly.
For now, Ericsson holds the contract. The company will lead the design and development of the end-to-end network, including hosting services. Hagbro said Ericsson is honored to cooperate with DNB. The work begins immediately in the three launch cities.
The 100,000 jobs figure is the most concrete promise attached to the project. It is also the one most easily measured. If the jobs materialize, the political case for the single wholesale model and the Ericsson pick strengthens. If they do not, critics will have a number to point to.
Coverage by 2024 is the other hard target. 80 percent of the population is not 80 percent of the land area. That distinction matters in a country where rural constituencies hold disproportionate political weight. The government will be watching.
