This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 6, 2020 - January 12, 2020

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)’s decision to allocate the 700MHz and 3.5GHz spectrum bands for 5G rollout in Malaysia to a single consortium of multiple licensees is intended to lower capital expenditure by preventing infrastructure duplication seen in previous generations of telecoms networks.

Given the government’s aim to propel the country’s competitive advantage by leveraging technology — including those made possible by advancements in 5G — and cutting duplication and costs would, in theory, allow wider and faster 5G network deployment and coverage.

The multibillion-ringgit question, however, is the remaining criteria for the 5G beauty contest. What will be the ground rules that decide whether it pays to be an equity holder in the winning consortium or will service providers be better placed by waiting to piggyback on the network that the consortium builds?

Whatever the formula, the winning 5G consortium must not be allowed to degenerate into a vehicle for rent-seeking in the hands of a few well-connected private individuals.

Spectrum is a scarce resource and any benefit purely from the award (sans returns on investment in the network) should accrue to consumers or government coffers to benefit the people. Malaysia is still paying for old monopolistic concessions that the Pakatan Harapan government pledged to stop, in order to obtain the best value for the people.

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