With Digital Nasional Berhad's 5G network reaching 82.4% of populated areas and Malaysia's IPv6 adoption rate exceeding 68%, the country is on track to become one of the first nations to complete a full IPv6 transition — with MCMC targeting 100% migration by 2028.
As of July 31, 2025, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) — the government special-purpose vehicle established in March 2021 to build Malaysia's national 5G infrastructure — has activated 7,489 transmitter sites, achieving 82.4% Coverage of Populated Areas (COPA). Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed the figure, alongside a mobile 5G broadband penetration rate of 82.7 per 100 inhabitants and over 28 million 5G subscriptions nationally.
The 80% COPA threshold was first reached in December 2023. Ericsson, the primary end-to-end network vendor for DNB, upgraded the network to 5G Advanced (5G-A) in February 2025, adding RedCap (Reduced Capability) for IoT use cases and enabling significantly higher spectral efficiency across the existing site footprint.
While Peninsular Malaysia has reached strong coverage density, East Malaysia trails behind: Sarawak at 62% and Sabah at 68.6% 5G coverage as of mid-2025. The government's 13th Malaysia Plan sets a target of 98% 5G coverage in populated and industrial areas by 2030.
DNB's exclusive single-wholesale-network model officially ended on 31 December 2024. In November 2024, MCMC selected U Mobile as Malaysia's second 5G network operator. U Mobile, partnering with Huawei and ZTE for 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructure, began commercial services in early 2026 and is targeting 80% COPA by the second half of 2026.
DNB itself underwent a significant ownership change in December 2025: the Ministry of Finance divested all shares to three telcos — CelcomDigi, Maxis, and YTL Power — for approximately RM327.87 million each. DNB is now wholly owned by these three operators in roughly equal thirds.
| Operator | 5G Network | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CelcomDigi | DNB (shareholder ~33%) | Active on DNB network |
| Maxis | DNB (shareholder ~33%) | Active on DNB network |
| YTL / YES | DNB (shareholder ~33%) | First to launch 5G; first 5G Advanced services |
| U Mobile | Second network operator | Own 5G SA network; services from early 2026 |
| TM / Unifi | Transitioning | Exiting DNB; moving to U Mobile's network |
Malaysia's IPv6 adoption rate has reached over 68% according to Google's IPv6 statistics (early 2025), placing it ahead of the United States (approximately 50%) and among the strongest performers globally alongside India, France, Germany, and Belgium. This positions Malaysia as a regional leader in the Asia Pacific, where the region as a whole reached 50% IPv6 capability in April 2025 — a milestone reported by APNIC Labs.
Malaysia's high adoption is largely driven by mobile networks. Telekom Malaysia (TM) has been a documented IPv6 deployer since 2004, deploying IS-IS routing with IPv6 Provider Edge (6PE) as early as 2008. Mobile operators have followed, with residential and mobile customers benefiting from IPv6-first provisioning across major ISPs.
Google's IPv6 statistics reflect Google's own traffic patterns and are weighted toward residential and mobile users. Enterprise and government networks typically have lower IPv6 adoption rates than these aggregate figures suggest. The 68% figure does not represent end-to-end IPv6 connectivity for all Malaysian organisations.
5G network architecture is designed with IPv6 as the primary addressing protocol. Under 3GPP TS 23.501 (the core 5G System Architecture standard), PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions support IPv4, IPv6, and dual-stack (IPv4v6) types, with IPv4v6 being the default requested type when devices support both. The 5G packet core — including the User Plane Function (UPF) and Session Management Function (SMF) — natively handles IPv6 addressing and prefix delegation.
This means that any 5G Standalone (SA) network built to 3GPP specifications inherently supports IPv6 dual-stack at the protocol level. However, actual network configuration, device support, and operator policy determine whether IPv6 is activated for end users. As of this writing, no official public statement from DNB, Ericsson, or MCMC has explicitly confirmed the extent to which IPv6 dual-stack is actively provisioned across Malaysia's 5G user base.
⚠️ The transition from IPv6 capability to IPv6 default provisioning requires deliberate configuration at the operator, device, and application layers. 3GPP mandates support — individual operator deployment is a separate matter.
In October 2024, MCMC opened a public consultation on "100% Adoption of and Complete Migration to IPv6 in Malaysia," with the transition period beginning in 2025 and full completion targeted for 2028. If achieved, Malaysia would become one of the first countries in the world to complete a national IPv6 migration.
MCMC's regulatory foundations are already in place. Commission Direction No. 2 of 2015 mandated all Network Service Providers to be IPv6-enabled. MCMC MTSFB TC T013:2019 subsequently required IPv6 certification for all directly connected equipment — access points, gateways, and mobile handsets — effective July 2020, with testing at SIRIM-accredited laboratories.
The 2028 target is ambitious. Enterprise and government networks, which generally lag behind consumer network IPv6 adoption, will require coordinated technical assistance, assessment programmes, and procurement requirements aligning new equipment to IPv6-first standards.
My6 Initiative Berhad has conducted IPv6 readiness assessments and deployments across more than 200 Malaysian government agencies since 2010, including the MAMPU National IPv6 Deployment Exercise in 2014. As Malaysia moves toward the MCMC 2028 target, the key challenge is no longer ISP-level capability — it is enterprise and government network readiness. Many agencies still operate IPv4-only internal networks that will require structured assessment, dual-stack transition planning, and post-implementation audit before the 2028 deadline. Contact My6 for a readiness assessment at [email protected].