Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the state-backed entity operating Malaysia’s first wholesale 5G network, deployed Ericsson’s 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology on its nationwide infrastructure.

In a statement, Ericsson’s head of Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh David Hagerbro noted it will continue to develop 5G-A capabilities with DNB to make the network “even more intelligent, efficient and secure”.

DNB CEO Azman Ismail added with the upgrade it aims to “accelerate the digitalisation journey of enterprises” across sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, oil and gas, agriculture and tourism.

No details on coverage, speeds or specific network gear were disclosed in the release.

The vendor did state the upgrade to 5G-A featured reduced capability (RedCap), which supports IoT use cases for enterprises by extending battery life and reducing complexity for wearables and industry sensors.

Data from GSMA Intelligence estimated Malaysia closed 2024 with 17.4 million 5G connections, representing about 40 per cent of the country’s total mobile connections.

In early 2023, the government moved away from its single 5G wholesale network strategy and approved the rollout of a second nationwide 5G network, following pressure from mobile operators and a review of the controversial single network plan run by DNB.

U Mobile was awarded the second 5G contract by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in November 2024.