Nations mustn’t fall victim to ‘technology colonialism’, says Fahmi

Malaysia's Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has warned against "technology colonialism" at the Mobile World Congress Doha 2026, calling for greater respect for national sovereignty in shaping telecommunications policies. He emphasized that nations must be free to determine their own technological direction and stressed the importance of maintaining policy independence, using Malaysia's 5G network rollout as an example.

Fahmi noted that Malaysia initially followed GSMA Intelligence's recommendation to use a single wholesale network model but later transitioned to a dual-network model, highlighting the challenges of navigating diplomatic sensitivities while balancing domestic priorities with international technological standards. He also stressed the need for greater international cooperation to build trust and achieve interoperability among different telecommunications networks and technologies.

Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.