In the past week, U Mobile has been in the spotlight after it was picked to roll out Malaysia’s second 5G network by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Following public criticism of the selection, U Mobile Chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan has issued a statement on The Star which addresses several concerns including its commitment to build the network, its foreign shareholding and why Malaysia needs to abolish the 5G monopoly created during the Muhyiddin administration. According to the tycoon who launched U Mobile in 2007, U Mobile is an innovation-led telco launched without using taxpayers’ money.
He said over RM5 billion private sector money has been invested and they have reached 9 million subscribers at the end of 2023. At the moment, the orange telco has over 10,000 network sites and employed over 1,000 dedicated Malaysian employees nationwide. He added that U Mobile has achieved 95% population coverage putting it on par with CelcomDigi and Maxis.
He said U Mobile has consistently succeeded in government JENDELA initiatives and the Universal Service Provision (USP) programmes to narrow the digital device. The orange telco has offered connectivity plans from RM15 per month and free connectivity was also provided. In terms of financials, Vincent Tan shared that U Mobile recorded a higher revenue of RM3.
5 billion and a higher net profit of RM102 million, with increased operating cash flows of RM1.2 billion in 2023. He added that U Mobile’s tota.
