The townships of Myeik, Tanintharyi, and Palaw in Tanintharyi Region are suffering widespread phone and internet outages because the MPT (Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications) mobile phone network is no longer working.

Previously, MPT was the only provider of phone and internet services left supplying these townships, but since 15 October the MPT network has not been available in Myeik, Tanintharyi, and Palaw townships, which has impacted both rural and urban areas.

People who use the Kpay mobile payment system from KBZ Bank and who signed up with their SIM cards are facing even more problems.

The network outage means they cannot use their online banking, make transactions or withdraw money. Because they registered with their SIM cards they get logged out of their K Pay account and cannot verify their ID at the bank. So, even if they go to the bank it is still almost impossible for them to access their accounts to withdraw money or pay people.

A 35-year-old Myeik resident said: “There is a total outage of the MPT network, making it impossible to connect. It keeps answering ‘The network is not available' all the time. People who applied for K Pay accounts using MPT phone numbers are facing difficulties as they cannot send or withdraw money.”

Businesses are also being affected by the outages.

Though shorter MPT network outages have previously been frequent, prolonged outages like this are a first.

When NMG tried to enquire about the outage using MPTs official Facebook Messenger service MPT’s response was that it is actively working to resolve the issue, but it did not provide any reason for the outage or an estimate as to when the service might be restored.

There are no MPT network outages in the nearby districts of Dawei and Kawthoung and Kyunsu Township, all of which are also in Tanintharyi Region.

But, in July 2024 Kawthaung Town did experience an MPT Network outage that lasted two weeks.