(AFP) The country's five mobile phone operators have agreed to share telecommunications infrastructure in a move to optimise resources and cut costs, reports said today.

A preliminary agreement signed yesterday between the operators covered the exchange of telecommunication towers or sites, cost sharing of new towers and rental of towers or sites at an agreed rate, The Star said.

The five players are Celcom Malaysia, Digi Telecommunications, Maxis Communications, TIMECel and state-owned Telekom Malaysia's unit TM Cellular.

Celcom group executive vice president Bistamam Ramli was quoted as saying that the operators had collectively invested over RM7 billion in setting up telecoms infrastructure.

The pact would now allow them to expand their network coverage faster and more cost-effectively, he said. Cost reduction for the operators would eventually lead to lower costs for consumers.

Duplication of resources

"The mobile operators are mindful of the fact that in the past, there was no integration among them when building telecommunications infrastructure on certain sites or locations," Bistamam said.

"We have realised that duplication of infrastructure does not make business sense."

Asked if the deal was a precursor to sharing a network for third generation (3G) mobile services, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission chairman Nuraizah Abdul Hamid said: "It can help the implementation of 3G when 3G is implemented."

The government has said guidelines for awarding 3G licences should be completed by the year-end or early 2002, and that commercialisation of 3G services may only start in 2003 or 2004.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has ruled out an auction of 3G licences and said the government was still studying ways to award the 3G licences to ensure that costs were kept low.

There are some five million mobile phone users among Malaysia's 23 million population.