Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has built over 500 telecoms towers in Mandalay Region in 2015, officials told media in the country’s second-largest city last week.
The state-owned operator had just over 200 towers in the region until 2014, but has fast-tracked construction to compete with international operators Telenor and Ooredoo. The two foreign telcos began operations in Myanmar last year, ending MPT’s monopoly.
U Ye Min Oo, manager for MPT in Mandalay, said the operator now has 98 percent coverage in the region, up from 77pc last year.
“We have been urgently rolling out our network across the entire country, as well as in Mandalay Region, with many more towers still to build,” he said.
The three companies are engaged in a heated race for coverage and users – together they have increased nationwide mobile penetration from 10pc in 2013 to over 60pc this September, according to communication ministry figures.
MPT aims to offer both 2G and 3G networks across the entire country, and is working to increase its internet speed, U Ye Min Oo said.
“We hope to double our internet speed. We are also working on improving our telecommunication services and have many more plans for the network.”
For example, the operator plans to offer evolved high-speed packet access, or HSPA+, across the country in 2016, bringing higher-speed 3G networks to users, he said.
“We are cooperating with our Japanese partner [KDDI] to bring the latest technology to our users,” he said.
Source: Myanmar Times
