The former special assistant to the US president and senior director at the US National Security Council, believes DNB has two key factors which are needed to realise the potential and capabilities of 5G.“DNB is the largest holder of 5G spectrum in the world, with exceptionally low cost,” Mital said, proving that DNB has all it needs to drive Malaysia’s technology.
“Spectrum cannot be so expensive that spectrum auction ‘winners’ end up saddled with enormous debt and little capital for new innovation,” he said in a commentary. He noted DNB is also a public-private-partnership, where the public part is spectrum, while the private sector funds the rollout, thus, it is not a burden on taxpayers.
Mital believes telco carriers played their part by having capacity commitments towards 5G, which in turn enabled DNB to offer a lower cost for spectrum, nearly 80% lower than the current 4G. He added the combination of spectrum availability along with low prices creates clarity and gives confidence to international firms that DNB will give them the capability to develop new 5G applications.