Even before the pandemic, there was already hype around 5G connectivity and how its potential could change our lifestyle. Unfortunately, even after the lockdown and things back to normal, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) COO Datuk Mohd Ali Hanafiah Mohd Yunus reported that the 5G adoption is still low.
According to the MCMC COO, only 1.2 million Malaysians have subscribed to 5G. While that sounds a lot, that's not the case on paper as he emphasized that “at 1.2 million that translates to a 3.1% adoption rate". However, he is still optimistic that more people will subscribe to 5G when more coverage is provided, as well as owning affordable 5G devices to drive up the adoption rates.
If you recall, Communications and Multimedia Minister Fahmi Fadzil told the media that the current 5G coverage is now 59.9% in populated areas as of the end of April. It's also a known goal that the Malaysian government is aiming for 80% coverage by the end of 2023. After that, Digital Nasional Berhad will be overtaken by a private company and switch to a dual network model.
Still, despite the 59.9% and counting for 5G coverage, it still shows that many people have not adopted 5G. There can be many more factors besides lacking coverage and affordable 5G devices, such as Malaysians just simply don't see the means to have one. In our experience, some 4G coverage areas are still poor, and 5G connectivity is also struggling in high-rise buildings.
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