The race for Myanmar's telecoms networks got even hotter on Thursday when the creation of two powerhouse consortia was announced at the closing of the pre-qualification round for two network licenses.
VodafoneThe world's two biggest mobile providers, Vodafone and China Mobile, have joined forces in an attempt to access the country's burgeoning market.
Meanwhile Digicel, an Irish telecoms company with interest in Myanmar since 2008, has joined with Serge Pun's local firm Yoma Strategic Holdings and US-Hungarian billionaire George Soros' Quantum Strategic Partners Ltd.
“Digicel has been successful in entering recently liberalized markets and driving teledensity in underserved countries across the globe,” said Dennis O’Brien, the company's owner, in a statement following the announcement.
“With current mobile penetration below 10 percent in Myanmar, we are committed to rolling out a world-class telecommunications network and have submitted a pre-qualification application to the government of Myanmar.”
Soros also said the liberalization of the telecoms market in Myanmar will serve as an important economic stimulus for the country.
The telecoms licenses will be announced in June and will allow the operators to build and operate a mobile network for 15 years.
“The licensing round is also an opportunity to accelerate the pace of Myanmar’s social and economic development through mass-market adoption of mobile services, similar to the mobile-led transformation underway within many other Asian and African countries,” said Vodafone and China Mobile in a joint statement on Thursday.
Other mobile operators in the running include SingTel and Norway's Telenor.
