Ericsson is planning to open an office in Yangon, Myanmar. Currently companies such as Huawei and ZTE are providing telecom-satellite equipment in the country.
Ericsson?s decision comes as a big move given that Myanmar, with an estimated population of over 60 million, has only around one million people having access to a mobile telephone. Around 400,000 people in the country have internet access. With only 4 percent wireless penetration and 3 percent fixed penetration, Myanmar is one of the last untapped telcecom markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Again, given the lack of interoperability between GSM/CDMA, the number of unique users could be about 2 million in the country. Currently, the state-owned operator, Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT), has a majority of these subscribers on 2G/3G.Yatanarpon Teleport primarily an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the other smaller operator in the country.
The Government of Myanmar is targeting 50 percent wireless penetration by 2015. In this background, Ericsson?s move to set office in Myanmar will lead to much required investment in the telecom sector in the country.
