Four mobile operators in Malaysia have agreed to use the government-owned 5G network, enabling them to launch 5G services.

The government has said a single shared network would reduce costs, improve efficiency and speed up infrastructure works, Reuters news report said.

Celcom Axiata, DiGi Telecommunications, Telekom Malaysia and U Mobile said on Monday they had signed agreements to access the 5G network run by state agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) for 10 years.

U Mobile in its statement said it would begin making 5G services commercially available to its customers from Thursday.

DiGi said the access agreement incorporated improvements to a few key terms in the government’s reference access offer (RAO) – a document published earlier this year setting out pricing, service commitments, and other details of DNB’s wholesale 5G model.

The updated RAO was expected to be published upon approval by Malaysia’s communications regulator, DiGi said.

Four major telecoms firms earlier requested the government to review the RAO, describing its pricing model as not commercially viable.

Earlier, Celcom, DiGi, Telekom and YTL Communications agreed to take up a collective 65 percent stake in DNB this month.

Two other major operators – U Mobile and Maxis – declined to take up equity in DNB.

YTL started offering 5G services to its smartphone customers last year. Maxis did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would be signing up for access to DNB’s network.

Maxis in a news statement said it is committed to playing an active role in bringing 5G to the nation in line with the Government’s digital ambitions.

Maxis said it is committed to utilizing Digital Nasional Berhad’s (DNB) network for 5G services. Maxis looks forward to bringing the best of 5G services and solutions to its customers and is confident of launching 5G in the near future.

Maxis Board is assessing the governance requirements for the 5G Access Agreement.

Maxis will support the nation’s 5G aspirations in strengthening Malaysia’s competitiveness in the region. Meanwhile, Maxis has already been developing multi-industry use cases and forging partnerships with major players for 5G services and solutions.