Myanmar has formally invited domestic companies to apply to join a consortium that will eventually become the country’s fourth mobile operator.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) said interested parties must have a registered capital of at least 3 billion kyat (€2.3 million) and must submit their application no later than 24 August.
Successful applicants will join state-owned ISP Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP) in a special purpose vehicle. The group will then seek a foreign joint venture partner to help it roll out a new nationwide mobile network.
Myanmar’s mobile market effectively lay dormant until the government awarded licences to two international telcos – Telenor and Ooredoo – in mid-2013. The pair launched services a year later and operate alongside state-owned incumbent Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which has partnered with Japan’s KDDI.
Mobile uptake in Myanmar has soared since then. In July, Telenor revealed its subscriber base had surpassed 10 million, while Ooredoo had 3.3 million at the end of April.
In June, it emerged that Myanmar is also working on a spectrum allocation policy that will enable it to increase the availability of sub-1-GHz frequencies, specifically the 700 MHz, 850 MHz, and 900 MHz bands.
