Burma: Price of Mobile Phones Said to Fall

Text of report in English by Thailand-based Burmese publication Irrawaddy website on 24 January

GSM telephones have sharply fallen in price in Burma over the past month after the military government authorized cellular phone licenses to thousands of people, particularly government officials, according to business sources in Rangoon.

“The price of a GSM phone recently fell more than 1 million kyat (US $800),” a businesswoman in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

She said that, previously, a cell phone licensed in your own name would cost no less than 2.86 million kyat ($2,280), and a cell phone registered in another person’s name – almost certainly a well- connected private dealer – would retail for 2.6 million kyat ($2,080). “But recently the prices of both options fell to 1.75 million kyat ($1,400),” she said.

Business sources in Rangoon confirmed that the decrease in price is directly related to the military authorities’ plan to expand the telecommunications’ industry in the country.

“Word has spread among the business community in Rangoon that 70,000 GSM and CDMA (code division multiple access) phones will soon be licensed, particularly for government staff. That why the prices instantly fell,” said a businessman who asked not to be identified.

The official license fee for a GSM cell phone from Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) is 1.55 million kyat ($1,240). However, government employees cannot afford the amount – Burma’s gross national income per capita is only $ 220. To supplement their income, many government employees sell their GSM licenses for around 300,000 kyat ($240), according to business sources.

An official at MPT told The Irrawaddy that a prepaid cellular phone system had been planned and tested by authorities. But he could not confirm when prepaid cellular phones would be available for consumers. “Ultimately, mobile phones will get cheaper and cheaper in the future,” he said.

Two Chinese telecommunications companies, Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co and ZTE (Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Company Limited) have been involved in Burma’s GSM expansion projects. The companies are constructing telecommunications towers for the proposed expansion of mobile phone networks in Rangoon and Mandalay.

MPT announced in August 2006 that it planned to expand its GSM network capacity from about 80,000 lines in Rangoon and Mandalay to 160,000.

According to the CIA World Factbook, there were 503,900 landlines in the entire country of Burma in 2005 and 214,200 cell phones in 2006.

Burma’s telecommunications devices and accessories are some of the most expensive in the world. The official introductory cost for an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) system is $1,400. Critics say the ruling junta classifies telecommunications equipment as luxury items because the generals fear that Burmese citizen’s will use the equipment to expose, criticize and topple the regime.

Originally published by Irrawaddy website, Chiang Mai, in English 24 Jan 08.

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