It was in our January 2017 blog that we confirmed the arrival of a new player in the expanding Myanmar Telecoms marketplace. We also confirmed their product name, MyTel. Now, on schedule, it has been announced that their service will be launched in 2018.
MyTel are stepping forward with the first 4G service for Myanmar, scheduled for the first quarter of next year. MyTel is a joint venture between Viettel of Vietnam, and a consortium of 11 local firms under the banner “Myanmar National Telecom Holding” and Myanmar company, Star High.
Viettel is planning a major investment in Myanmar. A country they see with the largest population (55 million) among its 10 foreign markets. They will skip 2G and 3G. MyTel plans to make an impact.
Since the roll out of mobile services there have been three network providers in Myanmar. MPT with 42 per cent market share, Telenor (Norway) at 35 per cent and Ooredoo (Qatar) at 23 per cent. There has been a huge rise in the purchase of SIM Cards due to a massive drop in price (to just over USD 1) and more sales outlets.
MyTel state that they will have “the largest infrastructure system with almost 7,200 base transceiver stations (BTS) covering 90 per cent of Myanmar’s population and 33,000 kilometres of fibre cable – double that of the biggest rival in the country”.
Reports indicate that MyTel is seeking to employ 3000 staff for their infrastructure build and roll out. This ties in with our findings in January 2017 when we reported MyTel were expected to focus initially on rural areas. Current estimates indicate 70 percent market penetration by the existing providers with a remaining 30 percent untapped, located mainly in rural areas. These are now clearly tagged for MyTel. To-date, the growth of Internet usage has been far greater than expected, another plus for 4G. The user base is eager and expanding.
Also in January we reported that MyTel were said to have paid $300 million for their licence. In 2014 Telenor paid $500 million and Ooredoo $1 billion. There were 91 applications for these licences.
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The roll out of this new network will enable a leap forward for retail and other commercial opportunities with now even more of the population to receive the option to get on-line.
Photo Credit Viettel Global:
Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe on Saturday cut the ribbon to inaugurate the headquarters of Telecom International Myanmar (MyTel) in Yangon, a joint venture by Viet Nam’s Viettel Group and a Myanmar partner.
