Myanmar’s moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges

June 2013 | byHeang Chhor, Richard Dobbs, Doan Nguyen Hansen, Fraser Thompson, Nancy Shah, and Lukas Streiff Myanmar is a highly unusual but promising prospect for businesses and investors—an underdeveloped economy with many advantages, in the heart of the world’s fastest-growing region. Home to 60 million inhabitants (46 million of working age), this Asian nation has abundant natural resources and is close to a market of half a billion people. And the country’s early stage of economic development gives it a “greenfield” advantage: an opportunity to build a “fit for purpose” economy to suit the modern world. Managed well, Myanmar could conceivably quadruple the size of its economy, from $45 billion in 2010 to more than $200 billion in 2030—creating upward of ten million nonagricultural jobs in the process. Myanmar’s moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges, a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute, discusses the challenges of meeting this ambitious goal and points to several areas that could help unlock high growth. Only a diversified economy can double its labor productivity; relying exclusively on energy and mining would not suffice. All the fundamentals—political and macroeconomic stability, the rule of law, enablers such as skills and infrastructure—must be in place. The report also finds that four areas, which have thus far received little attention, could underpin growth and productivity. 1. Harnessing digital technology. Myanmar is beginning its economic-development journey in the digital age, when mobile and Internet technology are increasingly affordable. Harnessing these tools to the fullest could help the country leapfrog to a more advanced stage of development, but that would call for an aggressive telecommunications-infrastructure plan. 2. Supporting a structural shift toward manufacturing. While other emerging economies have experienced a structural shift away from agriculture toward manufacturing, Myanmar’s reliance on agriculture has increased. Today, the country’s manufacturing sector is small in absolute terms—less than half the size of Vietnam’s—but it has the potential to be Myanmar’s largest by 2030. 3. Preparing for urbanization. The vast majority of Myanmar’s citizens live in rural areas, but this is likely to change rapidly. The share of the population in large cities could double, from just 13 percent today to around 25 percent in 2030—an additional ten million people, or two cities the size of Yangon. Myanmar would benefit from preparing for this change through investment, planning, and a shift to local governance. 4. Connecting to the world. Myanmar must consider the best way of reconnecting to the global economy through investment, trade, and flows of people. The nation potentially needs more than $170 billion of foreign capital to meet its overall investment requirement of $650 billion and should develop a targeted strategy to attract it. Trade volumes are not only low but also undiversified, and Myanmar could expand its trade opportunities and increase population flows to encourage knowledge transfers, the building of skills, and expanded tourism. To implement that agenda, Myanmar’s government is likely to require more capacity and may consider setting up a delivery unit dedicated to solving problems and driving the implementation of change. The nation’s businesses could consider their opportunities in different markets, quickly reach international quality standards, and explore foreign partnerships. International companies must move fast, be prepared to commit to Myanmar for the long term, and consider partnerships with local firms. First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Articles here

Race for Burma telecom licenses enters final stretch

By Casey Hynes Jun 05, 2013 4:06PM UTC Share: The quest for mobile licenses in Burma is heating up, with international companies submitting their final bids for contracts that would give them access to a largely untapped telecom market. Twelve companies submitted bids in April, and the winners of the two licenses up for grabs will be announced June 27. Burma has an extremely low mobile penetration rate: less than 10 percent of the population of 62 million currently use mobile phone and other telecom services. This means the market could be quite profitable for foreign telecoms that have the opportunity to develop the infrastructure in Burma and begin putting out affordable products on the market. Pic: Shutterstock.com Indian telecom leader Bharti Airtel submitted its final bid for a license on earlier this week, and is one of 11 other companies still in the running. Bharti Airtel currently has operations in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and parts of Africa. Irish company Digicel is also among those vying for one of the coveted licenses, and submitted a final bid on June 3 as part of a consortium with Burma-based Yoma Strategic Holdings and the investor and philanthropist George Soros’ Quantum Strategic Partners group. The Irish Independent reported that Digicel is so confident in their chances of being awarded a license, they have already launched a marketing campaign within Burma. The Norwegian Telenor Group is another contender for a license, and has vowed to give 99 percent of jobs created through their plans to locals, give out free SIM cards and offer low rates on calls, according to Eleven Myanmar. The news outlet quoted Telenor Executive Vice President and Head of Asia Operations Sigve Brekke as saying, “Myanmar telecommunication industry has been interested by the international firms and job opportunities will be abundant.” While the telecom landscape in Burma appears to be ripe for investment, there are risks associated with setting up business in the country. The low penetration rate presents both opportunities and obstacles, as there may be desire for greater mobile access but even low costs can be prohibitive for the extremely poor in the country. The government began distributing low-cost SIM cards (about USD $2) through a lottery system in April, which signals greater access for common citizens. The cost of a SIM card was once several hundred USD, which far exceeds the cost of SIMS and even mobile phones themselves in places such as neighboring Thailand. First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

NTT Com unveils financial data center in HK

NTT Communications has unveiled the new Hong Kong Financial Data Center (FDC) which is expected to work with close proximity to the data center operations of regional exchanges. NTT said the purpose-built data center offers top-notch IT and network infrastructure to address the growing needs for industries like finance and cloud business with the most stringent requirements. The Tier IV-ready FDC offers 100% uptime service level and unrivalled security measures to protect the mission-critical data assets of enterprises. The FDC comes online as Hong Kong’s finance industry is experiencing rapid changes and increasing demand for enhanced IT infrastructure. Hong Kong houses the sixth largest stock exchange in the world and capital inflow is also expected to see a meteoric rise with the launches of QDII2 and RQDII pilot scheme. Many regional financial services institutions (FSIs) are boosting their IT capabilities in preparation for increasing market opportunities. As a result, computer-driven trading is forecasted to comprise 58% for all equities trading in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and India this year.Staff writer | June 04, 2013 telecomasia.net Phase 2 of the FDC is expected to be completed in 2015. First tier telecomm accessories supply Here’s original Articles

Sumitomo, NEC, NTT to aid Myanmar

Sumitomo Corp. and two of its business allies said Tuesday they have concluded a contract with the Myanmar government to build an optical fiber-based telecommunications network to link the country’s three major cities. Under the contract’s terms, Sumitomo, NEC Corp. and NTT Communications Corp. will build a core high-speed network capable of transmitting data at 30 gigabits per second linking the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw via the Web. The trio will also lay down fiber-optic networks inside each of the three cities to transmit voice and other data at a speed of 10 gigabits per second. The networks will also provide such services as long-term evolution high-speed wireless communications, fixed-line phones and Internet connections. The companies will take advantage of a ¥1.71 billion grant that the government pledged to provide to Myanmar in late December, they said. They envision completing construction of all necessary facilities by the end of November and providing operational support between December and mid-January to enable Myanmar people to utilize the new facilities. MAY 22, 2013 The best telecomm accessories supply Original Articles here

Lantiq Sampling 3x3 MIMO For Faster VDSL Gateways

Supporting existing VDSL chip, extending bonding. Imran Hajimusa of Lantiq had a great demo of 4 HD channels streaming over WiFi a while back. They are now sampling and about to ship this improved WiFi, 3x3 MIMO 802.11n, a technology they purchased from Metalink. They've also upgraded their bonding capacity, which now can use VDSL profiles 17 & 30 for two line download speeds of 150-200 megabits over short loops. Their previous VDSL bonding could only do up to profile 8, for speeds under 100 megabits. Telcos are screaming for reliable TV grade WiFi. I've heard claims as many as 50% of service calls are due to WiFi rather than DSL problems. When you carry you iPad to the bedroom upstairs, you don't want to lose the football game stream. Dirk Wieberneit of Lantiq reports raw WiFi speeds normally are fine, but don't often reach far enough into the home. The 3 antennas of their MIMO chips allow further reach with beamforming Higher connection speeds require more processing power in the gateway. VTel discovered, for example, that nearly all home "gigabit" routers peaked out at about 300 meg. Since they are delivering a true gigabit. that wasn't acceptable. http://bit.ly/10ukHRp iPads and second multiple HD TVs around the house increase the local bandwidth needs. Swisscom, using the related 4x4 MIMO, rarely has problems with wireless HD TV around the home. Hajimusa believed that in real environments the four antennas of 4x4 made little difference. The folks at Quantenna, shipping 4x4, disagree. I don't have results from the fields by carriers on the effectiveness of 3x3 MIMO and so can't judge. Hajimusa is now at NXP as new management has taken over at Lantiq. From the company. XWAY™ VRX300 Family – Ultra-Fast Access Network Speeds With 200 Mbps Bonding and up to 150 Mbps Vectoring Paired With Industry-Leading Integration and Flexibility for In-home Networking VDSL2-ready CPE system shipments are forecast by IHS iSuppli to grow from about 22 million in 2012 to more than 57 million in 2016. While market Researchers predict strong growth rates for VDSL, Lantiq already today delivers leading edge VDSL2 systems. The Lantiq VRX300 Chip Set Family drives down system costs while improving access and in-home network performance. With the VRX300 Chipset, we are again raising the bar to help equipment providers meet ever tougher requirements and reinforce the competitive position of carriers.Monday, 13 May 2013 11:49 First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Article here

60 Down, 18 Up As VDSL Comes To France

Many lines do not significantly improve. As predicted, ARCEP is allowing French networks to upgrade to VDSL2. Free.fr has been using VDSL chips in DSLAMs and the Freebox for a while, so instantly could go into testing. One lucky customer tested “Gross rate: 68420 kbp/s - 17852 kbp/s.” (Freenews) A second customer at 1500 meters actually saw a (small) drop in speed. By ARCEP estimate, only a modest minority of customers will benefit. Minister Fleur Pellerin remains committed to a wide fiber rollout. Visiting France, she endorsed Stephen Conroy’s fiber network. ““I’m very impressed by your plan to develop very high speed broadband in Australia.High speed broadband is a very important factor in the attractiveness of a country and that’s why we chose also the best technology. In fibre to the home you don’t lose signal according to the distance so it’s the best technical solution.” http://bit.ly/11kiLlK France is still committed to fibering most of the country. Wednesday, 08 May 2013 17:06 First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Article here

Broadband Forum Launches BroadbandSuite™ 6.1: Superfast Broadband Toolkit

News Highlights: x Broadband 6.1 empowers operators to enhance DSL deployments to effectively deliver superfast broadband services x Improves quality measurement for DSL management, architecture and network requirements x Enhances global testing standards for VDSL2 24 April 2013, Paris – The Broadband Forum announced this week at DSL Acceleration the launch of a comprehensive release, BroadbandSuite 6.1 that gives service providers the tools required to provide the speed and stability needed to effectively deliver superfast broadband services such as IPTV. This announcement comes at a time when the growth of bandwidth-hungry broadband services is driving operators to look for new ways to get more speed and stability from their broadband infrastructure. BroadbandSuite 6.1 offers practical implementation resources, functional and performance test plans, and best practice specification for DSL quality assurance, including: Technical Specifications: TR-114i2: “VDSL2 Performance Test Plan” TR-115i2: “VDSL2 Functionality Test Plan” TR-273: “Testing of Bonded Multi-pair Systems” TR-286: “Testing of MELT Functionality on xDSL Ports” TR-188i2: “DSL Quality Suite” Click here for the complete list of specifications in BroadbandSuite 6.1 Whitepapers: MR-180: “IPTV over DSL Anywhere” MR-257: “An Overview of G.993.5 Vectoring” MR-261: “IPTV Home Networking Series: Splitters”BroadbandSuite 6.1 is a vital resource of global test plans, setting the bar for ADSL2plus and VDSL2 function and performance. It also defines vectoring and bonding options for supercharging DSL, and key methods for improving quality measurements, IPTV service delivery and techniques for DSL network management. Robin Mersh, CEO of the Broadband Forum said: “BroadbandSuite 6.1 gives operators a way to boost their existing copper deployments as a valuable part of the multi-access platform that is emerging around the world. High speed VDSL2 works well with fiber, providing Operators the ability to capitalize on existing investments whilst effectively engineering hybrid FTTx solutions to minimize costs, all the while maximizing speed and reach of their superfast broadband networks.” BroadbandSuite 6.1 gives operators the ability to better architect a standards-based network design. The test plans forge greater interoperability and consistent multiservice delivery in the field. Overall BroadbandSuite 6.1 provides the tools necessary for service providers to leverage copper deployments into high speed DSL access, making it a valuable player in today’s converged superfast broadband network. First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

Ikanos: Our 192 Port Vector VDSL Chips Are In Customer Tests

Builds custom chassis to show off 100 meg on every port. “Customers probably will delay volume deployments until late in 2014. Our chip is production ready and will be available well before that,” Kourosh Amiri of Ikanos tells me. It’s an impressive chip, designed for node scale vectoring of 384 ports. It does full cancellation of noise in all tones, which Ikanos claims is substantially more effective than the competition’s “partial cancellation.” A ten gigabit serdes is built in to support the high speed interconnect needed for this kind of performance. (The picture shows Ikanos' reference chassis supporting 384 ports at 100 megabits.) Contrary to Deutsche Telekom’s claims that it’s “impossible” to unbundle vectored VDSL, Ikanos is perfectly comfortable with two ISPs sharing the binder. “As long as the two DSLAMs are within about 50 meters, we can communicate between them and cancel noise on all lines,” adds Amiri. Telecom Italia and Fastweb have an official memorandum of understanding they will do just that. http://bit.ly/WR6tug Each is passing several million homes with fiber/DSL, often in the same node. Huawei, #2 DSLAM vendor to Alcatel, is understood to have the contract and presumably will choose Ikanos chips. Ikanos is serious about interoperability. “If you manufacture VDSL chips, bring a board to our labs and we’ll be glad to test with you.” They claim they are working closely with their lead competitor and expect few problems in interop. Promises, promises I’ve been hearing from everyone in VDSL for a decade, so I’ll remain skeptical of everyone’s claims until they are proven in the field.Thursday, 04 April 2013 22:09 First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Article here

22 applications for Myanmar mobile license

Dylan Bushell-Embling | April 08, 2013 telecomasia.net The Myanmar government has received 22 applications from bidders interested in acquiring one of two new mobile licenses in the untapped telecom market. Myanmar deputy minister of national planning and economic development, Set Aung, told AFP that 22 companies or consortia had submitted pre-qualification applications in time for the August 4 deadline. The government hasn't named all the applicants, but plans to announce the list of companies which have been pre-qualified on Thursday. But ahead of this announcement, a source close to the process has provided TMT Finance with what is purportedly a list of all the initial applicants. The list includes 18 telecom operators – some of whom have already publicly announced their intention to apply – and several investment company consortia. Operators on the list include Malaysia's Axiata, Vietnam's Viettel, India's Bharti Airtel, China Telecom, SingTel, France Telecom/Orange and South Africa's MTN. First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

Vectored DSL - How It Works

Cancelling noise can double short loop speeds. Telco networks are generally built with 25 lines joined together in a binder like the picture. Each active wire generates crosstalk "noise" which interferes with the lines around it, reducing their speed. Cancel the noise and the lines can run faster. In practice, speed doubles to 70-100 meg down, 10-40 meg up, over short loops up to about 300 meters. Up to about 100 meters, a related standard G.fast, promises 200+ megabits. Bond two pair and you inexpensively (less than $125/home) double the speed again. As loops get longer, the crosstalk noise becomes less of a factor and the speed is limited more by the resistance of the copper wire itself and other kinds of noise, like AM radio. Over about 1,000 meters, vectoring has almost no impact. So vectoring matters if and only if you have a box fairly close to the customer. These "neighborhood nodes" can be small; you can connect 48 homes with a "pizza box" DSLAM. The boxes themselves are usually connected by fiber to the exchange. "Fiber" is a magic word and a brilliant AT&T lobbyist came up with the name "fiber to the node," FTTN. It worked; AT&T's node DSL build, U-Verse, got major government concessions. Stanford Prefessor John Cioffi and his former student George Ginis developed the idea back in 2002. The name comes from the vector mathematics used to calculate the noise cancellation. They couldn't demonstrate at the time because the calculations for 25 pairs running at 100 megabits were impractical. As Moore's Law improved chip performance, demonstration systems from ECI and Lantiq began showing in 2009. By 2011, Alcatel demonstrated production-oriented systems that were tested in 2011-2012 at carriers including Swisscom and Belgacom. The results were outstanding, confirming the 70-100 meg speeds. European carriers including Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia abandoned fiber plans and switched to the much cheaper vectored DSL. By late 2012, numerous problems emerged from early field trials. Carriers including Belgacom and Deutsche Telekom decided to delay substantial deployments until late 2013 or even 2014. Everyone is confident the problems will be quickly resolved with minor changes in the gear and the software managing the networks. Deutsche Telecom remain confident of deploying 12M to 24M lines in four years. The Germans in particular are anxious to deploy quickly because the cable guys are kiling them. DOCSIS 3 in Europe can offer "up to 200 megabits" down because EuroDOCSIS uses 8 MHz channels. Kabel Deutschland's standard offer is "twice the speed of Deutsche Telekom DSL for the same price." Kabel committed to early deployment of gigabit DOCSIS, perhaps by yearend 2013. Deutsche Telekom's estimate of cost is EUR 6 billion for 24 million homes, less than $450/home passed. Telecom Italia and AT&T have lower estimates. I use a figure of "about $400" for short discussions. VDSL DSLAMs sold for an average price of $38/port in 2012, although if you aren't buying in the millions you'll likely pay a much higher price. Adding vectoring raises the bill of materials by only a few dollars per port, but first to market Alcatel is looking to charge a 100% premium for vector. As Huawei, Adtran, ECI, Calix and others ship systems, the price will come down. Those DSLAMs need to be installed in field cabinets and connected by fiber to the exchange. Most customers need new modems. But at $50/month, three year revenue for VDSL is $1800. The investment is so quickly paid off it fits within the typical telco capex budget. The saving compared to fiber is at least $500/home and possibly $1500-$2000/home. Thursday, 04 April 2013 16:03 First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Article here

BROADBAND FORUM HOLDS INDUSTRY’S FIRST G.VECTOR INTEROPERABILITY PLUGFESTFOR VDSL2

(March 26, 2013, Fremont, CA) Fifteen companies met in Durham, NH, USA during the week of February 25 – March 1, 2013, to participate in the first wide scale interoperability testing of equipment implementing ITU-T G.vector for VDSL2. This plugfest, the first of a planned series of interoperability events organized by the Broadband Forum, and hosted by the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), was focused on detailed testing of G.vector functionality. The participating companies were Actiontec Electronics, Inc., ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, AVM GmbH, Broadcom, Calix, Cisco, EXFO, Ikanos, JDSU, Lantiq, Metanoia Communications, NETGEAR, Real Communications, Inc. and Technicolor, with the support of Telebyte and TraceSpan Communications. Each plugfest offers an opportunity for industry leading companies to come together in a neutral environment to test their G.vector implementations. Testing was conducted according to the Broadband Forum’s G.vector plugfest test plan, and initial results will be provided to the Broadband Forum membership in the coming weeks. Robin Mersh, CEO of the Broadband Forum, said: “There is no doubt that VDSL2 has a pivotal role to play in the future of high speed broadband services. It is rapidly becoming a widely deployed technology and the addition of G.vector functionality is helping to achieve the increased bandwidth needed for today’s applications and consumer expectations. Our role is to ensure that implementations of G.vector are interoperable and perform well, and the plugfest is a key step towards that goal.” G.vector provides a boost to VDSL2 data rates by cancelling crosstalk in real-time between wire pairs in the copper access network. This allows the equipment to operate at higher bit rates, and gives subscribers quality access to even higher bandwidth services. The Broadband Forum series of plugfest events helpsimplementationsto mature, fosters cross-vendor interoperability, and ensuresthat participants keep up with G.vector advancements, thereby expediting quality rollouts of super-fast broadband services over VDSL2 around the world. “Our company appreciates this Broadband Forum initiative, helping to foster interoperability and market readiness for G.vector”, said Manuel Paul, Deutsche Telekom, and member of the Broadband Forum Board of Directors. “Broadband Forum provides a great value to the industry by continuing its successful interoperability programs.” First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

At least 4 apply for Myanmar Mobile license bid

At least four telecom companies have expressed an interest in bidding for Myanmar's two new nationwide telecom licenses. SingTel, Axiata, Temasek subsidiary ST Telemedia and Norway's Telenor have each submitted expressions of interest in the licenses, Bloomberg reported. The deadline for companies to register their interest was going to be last Friday, but the ICT ministry recently extended the date until 3pm local time on February 8. The government revealed on January 15 that it plans to issue two nationwide telecom licenses by June, as part of plans to improve the nation's single-digit mobile and fixed penetration levels. The auction forms part of a wider policy of opening up the nation's telecom sector up to international investment. Myanmar has been attracting strong interest from the global telecom sector since this policy was announced, as it represents one of the few remaining relatively untapped telecom markets. Separately, former telecom minister Thein Tun and several former senior officials from the ministry are reportedly the subjects of a new corruption probe. The Wall Street Journal, citing government officials,reports that the probe concentrates on issues “including corruption” and “cronyism.” But the officials did not make any specific allegations. Another government official told Reuters that around 50 senior ICT ministry officals are “facing inquiries.” Industry watchers blame the former minister for keeping the price of SIMs out of reach for the majority of Myanmar citizens – they still sell for as high as $350, barely less than the nation's average annual income. The probe appears to be another signal by the new government that it is serious about reforming the telecom sector.Dylan Bushell-Embling | January 28, 2013 If you are AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint interest to becoming a partner/ investor with local license holder. Contact here Original Article right here

World's least penetrated mobile markets

January 23, 2013 The recent news that Myanmar will soon revamp its telecom market by offering two telecom licenses to either local or foreign players in H12013 will quite possibly be the wireless story of the year for Southeast Asia. While figures are scarce and unreliable, the country certainly has a single-digit mobile user ratio but is set to soar to upwards of 80% according to government projections. With the global mobile SIM base projected to surpass 100% over in 2013, there are still a handful of countries in the world where SIM ownership is still relatively uncommon. Ranking the least penetrated markets excluding Myanmar as of the end of 2012 gives us the following order: 1. North Korea – 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 6.9% Although hard to believe, the North Korean market has actually expanded significantly since Orascom entered into a JV with the local government in 2009. Obtaining a phone is still involves a long bureaucratic process which has also reportedly created a rife grey market, but Kyorolink`s exclusivity is ending soon which could lead to even another player in the medium term. 2. Eritrea - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 7.2% Also located in the Horn of Africa, this market is the least developed in Africa as the fixed and local markets are a total monopoly and there is only limited competition in the ISP space. While the government of Eritrea has taken initial steps to privatize the company by offering shares to local investors. 3. Cuba – 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 11.3% The government allowed all Cubans to purchase mobile phones in 2008 although mobile Internet is not available and postpaid contracts start at $30 per month in a market where the average wage is $19 per month. As the operator is a monopoly and the economy is state-managed the situation is unlikely to change without major political reform. 4. Kiribati - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 16.2% An archipelago spanning 3.5m square miles with a population of roughly 105,000 people, mobile service was introduced to Kiribati in 2004. However due to the high cost of international bandwidth and corresponding high prices, mobile uptake is low. A deal to bring Oceania operator Digicel to the market fell through in 2010, meaning that international aid is the biggest hope for expanding mobile services. 5. Somalia – 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 16.3% Despite piracy, a civil war and the lack of a functioning regulator, Somalia actually has six mobile operators, although most largely functioning one of the country`s several de-facto autonomous regions. In Somaliland - one of these regions - the local operator claims that 40% of its users use mobile money services, which have filled in for the non-existent banking sector. 6. South Sudan - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 21.2% The world's newest country also has one of the world's lowest penetration rates. After the partition of Sudan, many mobile networks had to be both physically and financially divided as well and despite the fact that the country faces hostilities with its neighbors and lacks a solid regulatory framework prospects are perhaps the best of all the countries on the list. The market has five players including pan-regional operators such as Zain and MTN, and the fact that it is a distinct geography now means that there is considerably more attention and investment directed towards the country - meaning subscribers could as much as triple in the next five years. 7. Burundi - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 22.3% Burundi is a sub-Saharan African nation near the center of the continent and is one of the three lowest GDP per capita countries in the world. The country is also hilly and suffers from a lack of infrastructure but like South Sudan, Burundi has high growth potential. The country of 10 million has five mobile operators (although two recently had their licenses suspended) which has pushed down prices and forced operators to expand coverage, hence high growth is expected to continue. 8. Ethiopia - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 23.8% Ethiopia is by far the largest market on the list with a population of 84 million. The market is controlled by monopoly Ethio Telecom, although since 2010 has been managed by France Telecom. While the situation has improved under foreign management, the government has no immediate plans to either privatize the operator or introduce competition in the market, as ETC is a government cash cow and the second-largest company in the country. 9. Tuvalu - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 24.3% Tuvalu is an island nation of 12,000 located halfway between Australia and the United States, and hence capacity constraints have severely limited feasibility of providing service. Limited service is backhauled by satellite but - as is true in Kiribati - the economic feasibility of the service is severely limited. Digicel has expressed interest in entering the market, but no deal has been reached as of yet. 10. Djibouti - 2012 Mobile Penetration Rate: 24.8% The third Horn of Africa country on the list, Djibouti is similar to Eritrea in the fact that the market is a total monopoly under Djibouti Telecom, which has kept prices high in spite of the fact that the country is a major landing site for submarine cables and the country actually resells capacity to its neighbors. While the privatization of DT and the liberalization of the sector have been discussed, there are no firm plans to do so at this point. Unsurprisingly, all the countries on this list are either dictatorships, isolated islands or located in the impoverished Horn of Africa or Sub-Saharan region, and more often than not monopolies. It is also important that these numbers are SIM-based and unaudited and therefore inflated to begin with. While a few of them do show some signs of hope from a booming mobile money market in Somalia to even a new operator in North Korea. But without serious political, economic and regulatory reforms, the mobile broadband experience won't be enjoyed by everyone for some time to come. First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

$44 million awarded to rural companies

Tuesday, 15 January 2013 11:32 Khin Myo Thwe

It was announced on Monday that 47 companies across Burma have won a portion of a 37,700 million kyat (US $44 million) tender to work on rural development projects in their respective states. A farmer plows a field in Bagan in central Burma. (Photo: Mizzima) A spokesperson from the Rural Development Project Implementation Committee confirmed that 67 tasks will be addressed under the scheme, which includes water distribution, as well as road, bridge and housing construction. Ninety-seven companies competed for the tender with only eligible associations allowed work on their designated projects. Calls for transparency in the tender process have been made. A spokesperson from one of the winning companies said, “We should not only be told which company and which association won the tender, but also the total amount of tender price.” Aung Moe, a retired engineer from the Public Works Department, commented that he hoped this tender would be different to previous schemes: “This time we won’t let things happen like before.” He went on to say that in the past Burma’s tender schemes had differed to other countries, “but now, if there is a flaw or deterioration in the project, the company must take full responsibility.” The companies that won the tender include: Tawin Soe Nyunt, Naing Min, Meba Ain, Myint Myat Taw Taung Dan, Galone Jait, Shwe Lwin Lwin, Aung Tharaphu, Aye Gabar, Tawin Myint Myat Thu, San Myat Tun, Yoma Myae, Nawna Nyain Chan, Ayeyar Shwe Lin, Swan Arr Pyae, Lingar Depa, Zwel, Han Sein Thant, Aung Myanmar Corporative Association, Myintmoe Lwan, and Pan Khun Mine Nin. Original Article here