Last month, Celcom Axiata CEO Mohamad Idham Nawawi said that now is not the right time to commercialise 5G as the focus for now is to improve on 4G. This is because we’re lacking in the devices and application linked to the technology.

He does have a point though. As much as we would want 5G, our 4G is not doing all that great in some areas. Maybe now may not be the right time but U Mobile is taking that chance and that risk to go ahead and launch its live 5G network trial next week.

Now this is not the official launch of 5G as this is a trial so we’re not expecting much but it is an interesting development considering the Malaysian authorities have yet to allocate 5G spectrum to telcos so we’re curious to see how this would turn out.

U Mobile has sent out invites for its “Fast Forward” event next Monday where they will launch what claims to be the first free live 5G network trial in Malaysia. It added that it will allow customers to experience the power of 5G.

A number of telcos were given temporary spectrum as part of 5 G Demonstration Projects to run 5 G use cases. U Mobile currently has live 5G towers that are used to show remote healthcare, virtual tourism and fixed wireless access services.

So with that in mind, it actually might be possible that U Mobile is offering selected customers with 5G devices the opportunity to tap onto their 5G network for free.

Since this is a trial, don’t expect great coverage just yet cause realistically, U Mobile would have limited 5G base stations at very selected locations. It is likely that Berjaya Times Square will be included in its 5G trial coverage area.

So now we’ll just have to wait and see how this will all turn out. I, for one, am interested. If this works then we’re definitely on our way there to get 5G coverage. But I do feel like we should improve on our 4G coverage first.