Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) has started activating its newly allocated 100MHz of mid-band spectrum, effectively doubling the capacity of its nationwide 5G network.
At the same time, the company has confirmed that U Mobile has officially offboarded from its network, marking another milestone in Malaysia’s transition to a Dual 5G Network model.
According to DNB, the newly allocated 3.3GHz to 3.4GHz spectrum is being activated alongside its existing 3.4GHz to 3.5GHz allocation, giving it a contiguous 200MHz block, the largest mid-band spectrum holding in Malaysia. The additional spectrum effectively doubles network capacity, improves efficiency and delivers a better user experience, particularly in high-demand areas.
So far, more than 50 sites have been upgraded with the additional spectrum, with more sites planned for activation. DNB says the extra capacity will strengthen network performance in busy locations while supporting more advanced and data-intensive applications, including artificial intelligence (AI), industrial IoT, automation and other mission-critical enterprise services.
Malaysia’s demand for mobile data also continues to grow rapidly. According to DNB, the average monthly mobile data usage has increased from about 19GB per user during the COVID-19 period to about 40GB today. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s 5G adoption rate has surpassed 88%, with more than 30.3 million 5G subscriptions nationwide.
It added that the first 5G network currently carries the majority of Malaysia’s 5G mobile traffic, with shareholders CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Communications serving a combined user base of around 30 million subscribers.
DNB added that it will continue investing in 5G-Advanced technologies and AI-driven autonomous network management to improve network performance, efficiency and reliability, while expanding nationwide coverage together with its shareholders and industry partners.
U Mobile officially offboards from DNB
DNB also confirmed that U Mobile officially offboarded from its 5G network on 30 June 2026, in line with the government’s transition to separate networks under the Dual Network model. The move reflects the evolution of Malaysia’s 5G landscape and supports the government’s policy aimed at fostering a resilient, competitive and future-ready digital ecosystem.
During U Mobile’s launch back in April, it revealed that it has achieved 82.9% 5G population coverage with 6,737 sites across both West and East Malaysia, deployed by Huawei and ZTE. Their coverage also includes 136 in-building 5G sites at the time.
DNB assured that the transition does not affect its network operations, coverage commitments or ongoing service delivery. The company said it remains focused on delivering its nationwide 5G network in collaboration with its shareholders and industry partners.
Why is DNB getting another 100MHz?
When DNB first launched Malaysia’s nationwide 5G network, it originally was allocated with a total of 200MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 3.5GHz band as part of the Single Wholesale Network policy.
However, after the government decided to transition from the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model to a Dual Network (DN) model, one of its 100MHz spectrum blocks in the 3.5GHz band was taken away. That spectrum was subsequently awarded to U Mobile, which is now deploying Malaysia’s second 5G network.
To ensure DNB continued to have sufficient spectrum capacity, the Ministry of Communications issued a Ministerial Direction on 29 October 2025 to allocate a new 100MHz block in the 3.3GHz to 3.4GHz band. With DNB now activating this additional spectrum, it once again has a contiguous 200MHz allocation, allowing it to double network capacity while U Mobile operates its own separate 5G network.
The extra spectrum is needed as recent independent reports have shown a decline in median 5G download speeds due to network congestion. Afterall, DNB has to serve the biggest chunk of 5G subscriptions on half of its original allocated spectrum for 3.5GHz.
DNB activates additional 100MHz 5G spectrum as U Mobile exits its network
News Reports PH
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