Myanmar’s two biggest mobile providers are picking up the pace of their 4G deployments.
Market leader MPT aims to extend its LTE-A network to 300 towns by the end of 2018, while second placed Telenor Myanmar has stated its goal of reaching the same number, compared to the 255 towns that its network currently serves.
Telenor Myanmar CMO Amaresh Kumar said: “We want more Myanmar people to enjoy the powerful internet, so we decided to fast track our network expansion plan to cover more townships this year.” The operator noted that it currently has over 8,000 sites across Myanmar serving 19 million subscribers. Its coverage extends to 75% of the country.
Third placed Ooredoo Myanmar has the highest number of 4G connections in the country, with 70% of its subscribers using LTE according to GSMA Intelligence. On this metric, it is well ahead of Telenor (15%) and MPT (5%), although it has the smallest market share of the three – respectively, they hold 17%, 34% and 47%.
The accelerated deployment schedules are likely a response to the launch of newcomer MyTel, which entered the market in March. It currently has a market share of 2%.
