Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled the country’s 5G infrastructure plan, which will give all licensed operators equal access to a nationwide network, with the first services to be available by the end of 2021, The Star reported.

The premier said the government will set up a special purpose vehicle to manage network construction, which will involve a total investment of MYR15 billion ($3.7 billion) over a ten-year period and create an estimated 105,000 jobs. The entity will be allocated the required spectrum to own, implement and manage the network, the newspaper stated.

Yassin explained infrastructure cost-sharing will enable operators to generate higher returns, and deliver better and cheaper 5G services to consumers, The Star reported. Deployment will be done in stages.

In 2020, the government postponed the launch of the next-generation service to focus on improving is LTE coverage and dropped a plan to bypass a 5G tender process for operators.

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