Malaysia’s 5G rollout goes full circle back to square one

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Hello reader,

After a few months of fending off the frustrations that come with poor mobile internet connectivity, I was suddenly surfing the web seamlessly. It took me a while, but I eventually noticed the “5G” icon near the network bars on the top right corner of my phone screen.

Despite the recent exasperations, I was largely a satisfied user of 4G tech – so much so that I initially viewed its successor as excessive. But the past few weeks have convinced me that the fifth-generation standard for broadband cellular networks can supercharge economies and usher in the era of new tech advances. (And yes, it’s ridiculously fast.)

In fact, 5G in India is expected to have a cumulative economic impact of US$1 trillion by 2035. The lure of this tech is evident, however its rollout has been anything but straightforward in most countries, especially in emerging markets.

Today, we shine the spotlight on Malaysia’s chaotic efforts to build its 5G networks.

From Chinese tech giant Huawei seeking a backdoor entry to the polarizing creation of government-owned Digital Nasional Berhad, the development of 5G infrastructure in the Southeast Asian country has faced a host of unforeseen challenges.

The premium story also dives into how years of political instability and policy flip-flops have somewhat ironically led Malaysia back to what was initially planned when the country laid out its 5G ambitions in 2018.

Today we look at:

• How Malaysia’s 5G rollout turned messy
• Bukalapak standing firm on zero service fees for users
• 18 essential reminders for budding entrepreneurs by Tech in Asia founder Willis Wee
• Other newsy highlights such as Indonesia and Malaysia launching a cross-border QR payment linkage

— Shravanth

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Coming full circle

Image credit: Timmy Loen

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