KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd is retaining its “overweight” call on the telecommunications (telecoms) sector following the recent briefing on the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) plan by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Its analyst Ahmad Ramzani Ramli said the briefing revealed that Jendela 1 was a success, surpassing its original targets while laying the groundwork for an accelerated roll-out of the 5G network and paving the way for Jendela 2.

“Most of the telcos surpassed their original targets in terms of upgrading, fiberisation and building new towers, but some missed their marks due to issues with local authorities,” he said in a research note.

Overall network complaints dropped by 68% in 2022, further signifying the success of Jendela 1 in providing wider and more efficient coverage

Last year, MCMC received 64,020 network complaints, dominated by 4G quality of services.
 

“Jendela Phase 1 costs RM28bil, of which 40% was borne by the government, while phase 2 is expected to be launched by the end of 2023, but so far there has been no mention of how much the expenditure will be,” he added.

He noted that the briefing also touched on the upcoming second 5G network slated for 2024 where Malaysia will move from a Single Wholesale Network to a Dual Network model. — Bernama