Telenor, Ooredoo win Myanmar telecoms licences, Axiata out

by **Cals** Thu 27 Jun 2013, 22:49

Business & Markets 2013

Written by Reuters

Thursday, 27 June 2013 19:04

YANGON (June 27): Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo have been awarded telecommunications licences for Myanmar, the government said on Thursday, after a tender that will bring foreign companies into the sector for the first time.

Presidential spokesman Ye Htut announced the results in a statement on his Facebook page.

The operators will roll out networks in a country that analysts say has the lowest mobile phone usage in the world, with only 4 to 9 percent of its 60 million people connected.

The government has said it will finalise the 15-year licences by September and operators will need to launch services within nine months. They will have to provide voice services across three-quarters of the country within five years and data services across half of it.