Telenor Myanmar announces March SIM sales

TELENOR Myanmar yesterday announced it will begin selling SIM cards on the domestic market in March for 1,500 kyat ($1.50) following the completion of a telecoms network.

The company plans to set the local call rate at 25 kyat a minute, a 50 percent decrease from state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication's current call rate.

Telenor Myanmar's chief executive, Petter Furberg – formerly the chief financial officer of Telenor's Thai operations, Dtac – said that the Telenor network would take eight month to finish, during a press release in Yangon on Wednesday.

He added that Telenor will cooperate with local contractors in building telecoms towers throughout the country, but "haven't chose which companies to cooperate with".

Lars Erik Tellman, Telenor Myanmar's chief financial officer, declined to answer the total amount Telenor ASA – its parent company – would invest in Myanmar.

"We have negotiated with the government on the amount. After negotiations, we will officially announce the amount," he said.

In response to mounting criticisms of potential for human rights abuses in the telecoms sector, Telenor said in a statement released yesterday that it will implement "data security measures for the users in accordance with the country's rules and regulations".

Telenor ASA will have full ownership of Telenor Myanmar. Telenor ASA is one of the leading mobile operators in the world, with 148 million mobile subscriptions. The Norwegian government is a 51 percent majority shareholder of the company – the Norwegian government was also engaged by the Telecoms Selection Committee early on to advise the country's first telecoms tender process.

Telenor won its license to operate on June 27 along with Qatar-based Ooredoo, despite a motion in the lower house to delay selection until the new telecoms draft law is promulgated by the Union Government.

Telenor expressed unbridled confidence during a press conference on April 26 in Yangon that it would win the operating license, when executive vice-president Sigve Brekke laid out the company's future plans. Telenor's "country-wide rollout will not be a gradual process, but instead [Telenor] will provide access to the market as soon as possible", he said.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/telenor-myanmar-announces-march-sim-sales/