PETALING JAYA: Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil says that 5G rollout in the country has achieved 70.2% coverage of populated areas (COPA), with an adoption rate of 7.4%, equivalent to about 2.49 million users.

He said this in response to a question from Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani (BN-Titiwangsa) on the status of 5G network development during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 9).

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The 7.4% adoption rate is up from 68.8% COPA at the end of August, with user adoption also seeing a rise from 4.2%.

A further breakdown of coverage by state provided by the Communications and Digital Ministry reveals that Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Selangor are leading in COPA as of Sept 30, sitting at 97.6%, 97.3%, and 94.3% respectively.

Of the listed states, Kelantan, Pahang, Sabah, and Sarawak are listed as having the lowest coverage at below 50%.

• Kuala Lumpur - 97.6%
• Putrajaya - 97.3%
• Selangor - 94.3%
• Kedah - 72.2%
• Penang - 73.4%
• Perak - 71.9%
• Perlis - 85.9%
• Pahang - 45.7%
• Kelantan - 43.7%
• Terengganu - 62.8%
• Johor - 78.1%
• Melaka - 69.6%
• Negeri Sembilan - 72%
• Sarawak - 44.9%
• Sabah - 48%
• Labuan - 60.1%

Currently, 5,873 5G sites are in operation, with 7,509 targeted for completion by the end of this year, which are set to cover 80% of populated areas in the country.

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As previously announced in May, following the 80% COPA achievement, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be taken over by a new entity, with the government withdrawing its stake in DNB when the transition occurs.

The transition will turn the government-owned single wholesale network provider into an entirely private company under the new entity.

After that, a second 5G network will be established for the transition to a dual network model.