Where Malaysia falls short however is in adoption, with only 30.1% of network-connected mobile devices that performed tests using Ookla’s platform utilising the new network. — CHRISTOPHER FAM/The Star
Malaysia has the third fastest 5G network in the world, with the best performance in South-East Asia as of September 2023, according to a report from Internet access and performance analytics platform Ookla.
In terms of speed, the country’s next-generation network has a median speed of 485.25Mbps when it comes to downloads, lagging behind only the United Arab Emirates (592.01Mbps) and South Korea (507.59Mbps).
When compared against its neighbours in the South-East Asian region, Malaysia takes the lead, with Singapore at 338.36Mbps, Thailand at 141.65Mbps, and the Philippines at 124.58Mbps.
Where Malaysia falls short however is in adoption, with only 30.1% of network-connected mobile devices that performed tests using Ookla’s platform utilising the new network.
This is lower than the other countries leading in this category, which mostly sit at above 50% adoption, with the United States at 69.3% and China at 68.6%.
Ookla’s data also states that 21.5% of 5G-capable devices in the country were not using the network, while the remaining 44.8% of the tests were done using devices without 5G support.
It is however worth noting that this data is not indicative of whether a user is subscribed to a 5G add-on, as they may have been on the 4G network when the test was performed.
The report also states that 4G speeds have seen an increase since last year, with the median speed rising from 24.04Mbps in Q3 2022 to 36.95Mbps in Q3 2023.
