Perhaps it is a mere curiosity, but in Malaysia and the United Kingdom, for whatever reason, account market shares differ by provider and mobile generation. One might well guess that marketing policies account for the share pattern.
In some cases, as in Malaysia, it seems that different firms have distinct market share profiles, looking at platforms. Maxis has the most 2G accounts. U Mobile has the most 3G accounts. DiGi and Maxis have leading shares of 4G accounts.
Something like that pattern is found in the U.K. market as well. Operator 3 has the most 2G accounts. Virgin Media leads in 3G share. EE leads in 4G and 5G share. To be sure, 2G share overall is low, compared to 3G or 4G.
That suggests, at least in those two markets, some potential for market-shaping impact of a 5G wholesale network, possibly allowing new market share leadership to emerge.
But wholesale 5G networks--where a single national network sells capacity to all retail mobile service providers-- have not fared well, argue analysts at DT Economics. In particular, government-owned single wholesale networks “have a poor track record of successful implementation in other countries,” DT Economics argues.
Malaysia has chosen to build such a network, but there are risks, DT Economics says. Though 4G services competition will be facilities based, 5G will be a monopoly. There are some repercussions, to the extent that the value of the 4G network is partly its ability to support 5G services and features, at least initially.
By creating a monopoly wholesale provider, those values are lost, DT Economics argues. The 5G network reaps no benefits from existing 4G, while 4G assets are stranded, as 4G spectrum cannot be repurposed for 5G.
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