The total mobile services revenue in Malaysia is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4%, from $5.4 billion in 2025 to $6.3 billion in 2030, supported by growth in the mobile data service segment, says GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s Malaysia Mobile Communications Forecast (Q1 2026) reveals that growth in mobile data service revenue will offset the decline in the country’s mobile voice service revenue during the forecast period.

While mobile voice service revenue will decline at a CAGR of 1% during 2025-30, due to a consumer shift towards OTT-based communication platforms and the subsequent decline in mobile voice average revenue per user (ARPU), mobile data service revenue will be driven by a continued rise in mobile internet subscriptions, growing data consumption, and increasing adoption of higher-ARPU yielding 5G services.

Sarwat Zeeshan, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The average monthly mobile data usage in Malaysia is projected to increase from 27 GB in 2025 to 62 GB in 2030, driven by growing consumption of online video and social media content over smartphones, supported by the increasing availability and adoption of 5G services and data-centric offers provided by telcos through their 5G service plans.”

5G subscriptions surpassed 4G subscriptions in 2025 to become the most prominent mobile network technology, driven by ongoing network expansion as well as enhancements in network quality and capacity. For instance, in November 2024, the MCMC awarded U Mobile a license to build Malaysia’s second 5G wholesale network, alongside state-owned Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). In April 2025, U Mobile selected Huawei and ZTE as technology partners to deploy its next-gen 5G and 5G-Advanced network, focusing on capabilities such as network slicing and improved indoor coverage. Such enhancements are expected to support higher-quality connectivity and enterprise use cases, encouraging gradual user migration to 5G services.

The evolution and expansion of 5G networks will also boost M2M/IoT service adoption in the country, as companies explore new IoT/M2M use cases enabled by 5G networks. M2M/IoT subscriptions are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% over the forecast period, driven by mobile network operators’ (MNOs) innovative M2M/IoT solutions offerings.

Zeeshan concludes: “CelcomDigi led the mobile services market in Malaysia in terms of mobile subscriptions in 2025, followed by Maxis. CelcomDigi will retain its leading position through to 2030, supported by its focus on 5G network expansion and modernization, and its wide range of prepaid and postpaid plans with unlimited calls and data allowances.”