Malaysia has pushed the introduction of 5G until at least 2022, the new digital infrastructure plan has confirmed.

According information last week, unveiled by the Prime Minister, the new plan prioritizes upgrading broadband and 4G and shutting 3G by the end of 2021. The regulator MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) disclosed, the second phase, starting around 2022, will be the "transition to 5G."

The overseas media shared, Telco leaders expressed support for the deferred 5G rollout, in the light of that as a lack of devices and applications, the second half of 2021 would be the right time to start commercializing 5G.

The first phase , which gets underway immediately, aims to expand 4G coverage from 91.8% to 96.9% of the population, boost fixed broadband speeds from 25 Mbit/s to 35 Mbit/s and enable gigabit fixed broadband access for up to 7.5 million premises. 

It also envisages shutting down 3G networks to free up 900MHz and 2.1GHz spectrum to assist 4G expansion and help pave the way for 5G.