Telenor, Ooredoo win Myanmar mobile licenses
Myanmar has granted two new mobile phone licenses to Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo, the country’s Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee said in a press release late on June 27.
Telenor has been seen as one of the frontrunners in the bidding race. Ooredoo, formerly Qatar Telecom, might have won due to its pledges to invest $15 billion for a mobile phone network in Myanmar.
The 15-year licenses take effect in September 2013 and represent the largest foreign investment in Myanmar ever.
Of the more than 90 companies that submitted bids, 11 were short-listed. Other prominent bidders such as George Soros’ Digicel, Singapore Telecom or France Telecom did not succeed.
Interestingly, Telenor two days ahead of the license winner announcement already began hiring people and opened an office in Yangon.
The two winning bidders now need to fulfil certain criteria to reach the required penetration for the people in Myanmar. Ooredoo, for example, has said it will connect 90 per cent of the population to 3G data networks within two years.
Earlier on June 27, there had been speculation that the license decision would be postponed due to legal reasons, but this has been rejected by the selection committee.
Myanmar has granted two new mobile phone licenses to Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo, the country's Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee said in a press release late on June 27. Telenor has been seen as one of the frontrunners in the bidding race. Ooredoo, formerly Qatar Telecom, might have won due to its pledges to invest $15 billion for a mobile phone network in Myanmar. The 15-year licenses take effect in September 2013 and represent the largest foreign investment in Myanmar ever. Of the more than 90 companies that submitted bids, 11 were short-listed. Other prominent bidders such...
Myanmar has granted two new mobile phone licenses to Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo, the country’s Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee said in a press release late on June 27.
Telenor has been seen as one of the frontrunners in the bidding race. Ooredoo, formerly Qatar Telecom, might have won due to its pledges to invest $15 billion for a mobile phone network in Myanmar.
The 15-year licenses take effect in September 2013 and represent the largest foreign investment in Myanmar ever.
Of the more than 90 companies that submitted bids, 11 were short-listed. Other prominent bidders such as George Soros’ Digicel, Singapore Telecom or France Telecom did not succeed.
Interestingly, Telenor two days ahead of the license winner announcement already began hiring people and opened an office in Yangon.
The two winning bidders now need to fulfil certain criteria to reach the required penetration for the people in Myanmar. Ooredoo, for example, has said it will connect 90 per cent of the population to 3G data networks within two years.
Earlier on June 27, there had been speculation that the license decision would be postponed due to legal reasons, but this has been rejected by the selection committee.
