Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) is close to signing a mobile partnership agreement with Japanese mobile operator KDDI.
Than Tun Aung, a director at Myanmar’s telecoms ministry, told the Myanmar Times that reaching a deal has been a long…
Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) is close to signing a mobile partnership agreement with Japanese mobile operator KDDI.
Than Tun Aung, a director at Myanmar’s telecoms ministry, told the Myanmar Times that reaching a deal has been a long process but that the pact should be ready to be signed by the end of the month.
In January, it emerged that KDDI was in exclusives talks with MPT about becoming the state-backed telco’s partner, sharing its existing licence.
KDDI had been shortlisted for one of the two mobile licences Myanmar put up for auction last summer. The Japanese company eventually lost out to Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo, which are in the process of building infrastructure to roll out their networks.
Shortly after, MPT, which currently serves as the country’s telecoms regulator and sole operator, invited several foreign companies that participated in the auction to discuss a potential partnership. KDDI was later picked for exclusive discussions.
After moving away from decades of isolationism in 2011, Myanmar has been slowly opening up its telecoms sector. It reportedly intends to establish a new regulator by 2015 and sell part of MPT, retaining a majority stake.
Besides MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo, state-owned ISP Yadanarpon Teleport (YTP) is expected to become the country’s fourth mobile operator. Earlier this year, the company was in talks with Thailand’s True Corp to provide joint mobile services in the country. The Myanmar Times wrote that YTP will soon be awarded a mobile licence.
