Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile followed Malaysia’s largest mobile player CelcomDigi in seeking to build the country’s second 5G wholesale network, Bernama reported.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told the news agency the three operators sent proposals to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

The trio have not posted releases confirming their respective bids.

CelcomDigi sent a detailed proposal to deploy a second 5G network to MCMC earlier this month.

It noted it is willing to deploy the network alone or in partnership with other operators.

YTL Communications, the smallest by subscribers, did not submit a tender.

Early in 2023, the government moved away from its single 5G wholesale network strategy and approved the rollout of a second nationwide network following pressure from mobile operators and a review of the controversial single infrastructure plan.

Of the five major mobile operators, four back a share subscription agreement with Digital Nasional Berhad, the state-run entity behind Malaysia’s current wholesale 5G network.

Telekom Malaysia is the operator yet to decide on a sharing deal, with shareholders to vote on the move later this month.

Earlier in the week, CelcomDigi and U Mobile announced they teamed with ZTE to register a data rate of 30.8Gb/s during a trial of 5G-Advanced, claiming a global record.