Telenor Myanmar is close to receiving its licence from the government, five months after it emerged as a winner in a hotly-contested auction.
Originally expected to be awarded in September, the licence is set to be granted this December instead,…
Telenor Myanmar is close to receiving its licence from the government, five months after it emerged as a winner in a hotly-contested auction.
Originally expected to be awarded in September, the licence is set to be granted this December instead, reportedly because of delays linked to parliamentary debate over the country’s new telecoms law.
The Norwegian-owned operator expects to roll out services in August 2014, a spokesperson said, confirming earlier comments from Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg.
“[There is] limited road capacity in rural areas, very limited distribution of electricity. Being able to construct our network is challenging,” the spokesperson explained.
Asked if such obstacles could edge it to partner with another company, he said: “[Partnerships] will reduce cost and time of building and running our network and that will also [enable us to] provide services.”
Last month Qatari operator Ooredoo, the other successful licence applicant in Myanmar, said that given the green-field nature of the project, the company was looking to build the networks in partnership with Telenor.
Today, the Telenor spokesperson responded saying it is open to partnerships with other companies too and not just Ooredoo.
Rollout obligations for both companies include a requirement to achieve at least 75% geographic coverage for each region and state for voice services within five years.
A few weeks ago, French telco Orange said it would be eager to partner with state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to help develop telecommunications in the country, if invited to do so.
Orange was the runner-up in the licence auction.
