Ooredoo, Telenor awarded long-awaited telecom licences in Myanmar

The Myanmar Investment Commission approved the licences on January 8, and the companies now can begin operating. 

Mobile-phone penetration remains just under 10 per cent of Myanmar’s population because of what many say is the excessive cost of permanent SIM cards set by the government-run Myanmar Post and Telecommunications.

Telenor Group said the 15-year licence allowed it to operate services on the 900-megahertz and 2.1-gigahertz spectra. It promised to launch services within eight months after the licence was awarded.

“The people of Myanmar are ready for world-class mobile services, and Telenor is ready to deliver it,” Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive of Telenor Group, said in a statement. 

“A major milestone has been passed with the signing of the nationwide telecommunications licence agreement with the Myanmar government. 

This is the start of an exciting journey in Myanmar’s development, which Telenor will support through the delivery of world-class mobile services, responsible business practices and high standards that we live by in all of our markets,” he added.

To secure a rapid roll-out, Telenor has already appointed a management team and has initiated recruitment of employees on all levels. 

Currently, the company has a workforce of 150, and is expected to hire 1,000 full-time employees by the end of this year.

“We are fully focused on a rapid roll-out of our network and establishing an extensive distribution system to make services easily available to the population,” said Petter Furberg, CEO of Telenor Myanmar. “By offering high-quality products and excellent customer experience, we aim to create loyalty and trust with our customers in Myanmar.” 

Telenor plans to provide network coverage for 90 per cent of the population in Myanmar within five years. Voice and data services in second and third generation will be commercially launched as Telenor’s initial offering, ensuring that consumers get excellent voice quality and high-speed data connectivity.

Telenor targets EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) to break even in Myanmar within three years. 

Telenor and Ooredoo won a bid that attracted interest from more than 91 companies. According to Telenor, the licence fee is US$500 million (Bt16.5 billion).

A spokesman for Ooredoo said: “Our company officials and the staff from the Directorate of Telecommunications will sign bilateral agreements After we receive the licence we will start business operations.”

Ooredoo said it would employ up to 90 per cent Myanmar nationals and offer a calling service at Ks 25 kyat (Bt0.84) per minute and introduce 4G mobile data services upon launch. The Qatari firm also plans to manufacture and sell mobile handsets in Myanmar. It now is inviting retailers to distribute them.

“We are preparing to work on building 3G networks, implementing a distribution plan, drawing up a market plan, and implementing social, economical and financial benefits plans for the public,” an Ooredoo official said.

Meanwhile, the privatisation process of two local telecom operators, state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunications and Yatanarpon Telecom, is still under way.