Yatanarpon Teleport, Epsilon Global Network Team up for Myanmar Businesses

By Christopher Mohr, TMCnet Contributing Writer

Yatanarpon Teleport and Epsilon Global Networks have entered into an arrangement that will provide data access for businesses in Myanmar. The partnership is part of a trend of reforms in a country that for much of the past 50 years had been ruled by a military junta and was the second-most isolated country next to North Korea.

Also known as Burma, Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia, west of Thailand and east of India, and has a population of about 60 million. Telecommunications had been sparse, according to data from the CIA World Factbook.

As of 2009, there were only 110,000 Internet users in the country and a combined total of only 1.7 million landlines and mobile phones as of 2011. That’s less than one phone for every 30 people.

According to the Washington Post, although acquiring reliable data in Myanmar is a challenge, recent data suggests that the percentage of people having access to a mobile phone in that country may be as high as 9 percent.

By 2016, the Myanmar government hopes that the percentage reaches 75 percent. In September 2012, it had announced a plan to privatize telecommunications. State-run Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT) was supposed to be privatized and become the Myanmar Telecoms Company. Four operating licenses would be granted. Yatanarpon Teleport would also be privatized and get one of the licenses.

The MPT still exists and, along with the military-backed Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), formed a joint telecom venture in June. Both the joint venture and Yatanarporn got licenses. Qatar-based Ooredoo and Norwegian telecom company Telenor (News - Alert) got the other two licenses.

Setting up the four licensees opened up the consumer market while Yatanarpor’s arrangement with Epsilon opens up the business market. With some pretense of stability in the country’s telecom market and a more business friendly government, investors are eager to contribute to Myanmar’s growth.

There has to be some caution about being too optimistic. Some of the planned privatization did not happen and one of the four telecom licensees is military-backed. But more people are getting mobile phone and Internet access, thanks to a huge drop in SIM chip prices. Other companies are also joining in to provide technology.

The potential for economic and technological growth is strong in Myanmar. The only question is: will it last?

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