KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 – Malaysia has dropped two places to rank #38 globally in Opensignal’s Q1 2025 Global Network Excellence Index, down from #36 in the previous quarter. While 4G/5G availability improved marginally to 97.9%, Malaysia saw a dip in excellent consistent quality and average 5G download speeds, the latter slipping from 239.9Mbps to 237.5Mbps.
However, 4G speeds increased slightly to 32.7Mbps, a trend also observed in developed markets as spectrum reallocation shifts lower bands to 5G to enhance coverage at the cost of peak speeds. Despite these shifts, Malaysia remains among the top 10 markets in Asia Pacific, ahead of regional peers such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
While overall 5G expansion slowed with population coverage inching from 80.2% to 82.4% in 2024, efforts by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) to improve indoor 5G reception continue. Meanwhile, U Mobile’s entry as Malaysia’s second 5G network operator signals a new phase in the nation’s connectivity ambitions, with a goal to reach 80% 5G population coverage by late 2026.
