The major five operators in Malaysia finalised an equity stake deal with the country’s state-run wholesale provider Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), with each taking a 14 per cent interest.

In a statement, DNB noted CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Communications agreed to acquire a 70 per cent stake, with the Ministry of Financial holding 30 per cent.

The share subscription agreements will see each operator invest MYR233 million ($50 million).

Malaysia ended October with 3.6 million 5G subscriptions, accounting for 10.8 per cent of the country’s total, DNB stated.

The operators agreed to take undisclosed stakes in DNB in July.

DNB is working with Ericsson to deploy the country’s first nationwide 5G network, with a second network due to be launched from 2024.

All but two of the operators forged agreements to take stakes in DNB in October 2022, but the deals lapsed after authorities revealed the country would shift to a dual 5G network model.