Mytel has received a big welcome in Myanmar even before its official launch on June 9 thanks to its wide 4G network and low tariffs. — VNS Photo
Situated along National Highway No 1, on the left bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River, Thadon is a poor and underdeveloped village.
But it has changed rapidly since the US lifted its embargo on Myanmar in late 2016, especially in terms of telecom links, with most of its residents using smartphones now.
Yet if they wanted to access the internet on their phone, they had to travel 10km.
Before Viettel Group began telecom operations in Myanmar, Thadon residents had used their smartphones only for calls and texts.
There were three mobile phone service providers: the State-owned MPT, which has a 42 per cent share of the market, Telenor (Norway), which has 35 per cent, and Ooredoo (Qatar), which has 23 per cent.
They have been trying to provide 3G services in recent years, but the quality is very poor due to their limited number of base transceiver stations.
Everything has changed after Mytel (Viettel’s Myanmar company) appeared on the scene recently, and Thadon villagers no longer have to go to Thaton town 10km away to browse the net.
Mytel is a joint venture between Viettel Global and two local partners, Star High Public Company and Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public.
Holding a 4G mobile phone sim in his hand, Ar Kar Maung, a resident of Thadon, said it was brought to his house by Mytel staff.
High technology, low prices and many promotions mean Maung and other Thadon villagers like the new brand.
Maung said: “Mytel subscribers calling each other only pay half the rate charged by other networks. Mytel also offers more promotions if a new sim is bought, including 300 minutes of free calling within Mytel and 1.5 Gb valid for three months.”
Considered Southeast Asia’s last frontier, Myanmar’s huge potential has attracted many leading regional and global investors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Myanmar could quadruple its economy to US$200 billion by 2030.
From having the second lowest mobile phone penetration rate in the world of 10 per cent, ahead of only North Korea, Myanmar has seen a stunning expansion to 90 per cent in just two years.
To achieve a competitve advantage after becoming the latest entrant to the mobile telephony sector, Viettel has decided to deploy the most modern technologies.
In its first year, Mytel plans to invest in infrastructure, setting up more than 7,000 4G base transceiver stations and over 30,000km of fibre-optic cable.
When it formally launches operations on June 9, Mytel will be the only mobile network in Myanmar to provide 4G services nation-wide.
Its 30,000km of fibre-optic cable means the company has twice the length as its closest competitor.
Myanmar used to mostly depend on copper cables and supershort wave, with fibre-optic cables accounting for a small proportion of less than 1,000km per million population.
This is a sustainable competitive advantage in the context of the strong development of new broadband mobile platforms.
Besides technology, Viettel has also brought to Myanmar its unique sales philosophy: Mytel does not only have agents in cities and towns but also a mobile sales team which can travel to every household even in remote and mountainous areas. It is the only operator with this capability.
Even before, its formal start of operations, thousands of Mytel staff have fanned out across the country taking sim cards and services to people living in every remote and mountainous hamlet.
The company has said it targets signing up two to three million 4G customers this year. — VNS