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