Myanmar has delayed issuing its fourth mobile licence until mid-October, it emerged on Monday.
17 local companies have applied be part of a consortium which, will seek a foreign partner with whom to establish a new operator. Interested parties are required to have a registered capital of at least 3 billion kyat (€2.1 million), or enough capital reserves to form a new telco.
Successful applicants were due to be revealed in September.
"We’re trying to select them as soon as possible, but it won’t be done t his month," said Chit Wai, deputy permanent secretary at Myanmar’s Ministry of Communication and IT (MCIT), in an Irrawaddy report on Monday.
He predicted that the ministry will be able to announce the winners in the second week of October.
Once that has happened, the MCIT will appoint an international consulting firm to help it select a foreign partner for the venture.
Myanmar overhauled its telecoms market two years ago and since then incumbent Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and foreign operators Telenor and Ooredoo have begun offering mobile services. Local ISP Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP) was named as the country’s fourth mobile operator and was reportedly looking for partners, but has not been mentioned in MCIT announcements recently.
The fourth licence will be valid for 15 years and is expected to be awarded by the end of 2015.
