Viettel, the international partner for a consortium of 11 local companies, has been chosen to build and operate Myanmar’s fourth mobile operator.
Viettel initially plans to roll out a 3G network on the 900-MHz and 2100-MHz frequency bands, and would launch 4G services if it is able to secure 1800-MHz frequency licenses.
The consortium will have a total investment of $1.5 billion, and Viettel will have a 49 percent stake in the venture, paying $300 million in spectrum fees. That appears to be lower than the $500 million paid by Telenor and the more than $1 billion Qatar’s Ooredoo is said to have invested.
The Myanmar market, newly liberalized only recently, also includes state-owned operator MPT, which has about 66 percent installed base, while Telenor has about 21 percent and Ooredoo has about 13 percent.
So count Myanmar among the countries where telecom regulators believe four mobile providers is a better pattern for encouraging competition than a rival pattern of just three providers.
