Ooredoo Myanmar to launch 4G this month

Ooredoo Myanmar has revealed plans to launch 4G services in two cities this month, becoming the first operator to introduce 4G into the market.

Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Rene Meza told that the operator plans to introduce 4G in Yangon and Mandalay first.

A more wide-scale deployment will require more spectrum, Meza said. Ooredoo has applied to purchase additional spectrum as stipulated in the terms of its license, and this application was recently granted.

Meza said that while the government has not yet provided a concrete date for when additional spectrum will be released, it is expected to be over the next 12 months.

The availability of spectrum is a hot topic among the players in Myanmar’s mobile industry. The nation’ telecoms ministry is considering making spectrum in the 900-MHz, 2100-MHz bands available, along with the 700-MHz, 1800-MHz, 2300-MHz and 2600-MHz bands.

Myanmar’s mobile industry has undergone rapid development since the liberalization of the nation’s telecoms sector in 2013, which has contributed to growing demand for spectrum.

The government recently selected Viettel as the foreign partner for a consortium of local companies that will be granted the market’s fourth telecoms license. The consortium will be competing against Ooredoo Myanmar, as well as Telenor Myanmar and the joint venture between Japan’s KDDI and Myanmar’s MPT.