Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone license, it successfully introduced mobile telephony in Malaysia through its ART-900 (Automatic Radio Telephone) service, using first-generation (analogue) ETACS (Extended Total Access Communication System) specifications of the United Kingdom, a derivative of the US-AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) technology.

in 5 January 1988 with Fleet Holdings, which was led by Tun Dr. Abdul Daim Zainuddin (then-parent company of TV3, NSTP, and Bank of Commerce Berhad/BCB) and Telekom Malaysia as shareholders.

Subsequently, Telekom Malaysia sold its 51% shareholding to the Technology Resources Industries, a company owned by Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.

In the initial years, Celcom experienced tremendous growth in subscriber base and network coverage under the stewardship of Rosli Man, the President of the company.

Competition soon set in, and several digital mobile carriers competed for market dominance of the cellular phone industry.

Failure to resolve his debts resulted in the controlling stake in Celcom being sold to Telekom Malaysia, the government-owned incumbent fixed-line operator in 2003.

The total sum was about RM740 million, leaving Telekom Malaysia to intensify its efforts at recovering monies from Celcom's previous owners.

On 21 June 2021, Axiata and Telenor agreed to a potential merger of Celcom and Digi to create a stronger telco in Malaysia, coming after advanced discussions that took place two months earlier.

[10] In 2006, Celcom launched the first 3G service in Malaysia, covering most major towns where there is a Telekom Malaysia telephone exchange and either HSDPA or EDGE services within 15-mile (24 km) radius (GSM UMTS maximum allowed range) with GPRS as basic data coverage.

[11] In 2017, Celcom had a 90% nationwide mobile service coverage with 3G availability expanding from Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kulim, and Penang.

[16] Kolony targeted Malaysian youths and those that wanted to be connected to their family and friends frequently by using their mobile phone.

[17] It ran on the regular SMS-based platform, allowing users to participate in social networking activities using the most basic mobile phones with or without a 3G connection.

[19][20] On 4 June 2015, Celcom launched its latest Xpax limited edition simcard package, the Magic SIM.

[24][25] On 29 January 2018, Celcom launched Yoodo, a brand marketed as a hybrid of conventional prepaid mobile plans.

It is learnt that post-merger, Axiata will be a shareholder of the merged entity, which is expected to be an investment holding company that owns the enlarged regional mobile service operation.