Myanmar saw a continued booming in its telecommunications market for 2016 after its three operators gained a whopping 13 million new subscribers during the year, according to the statistics released from GSMA Intelligence, a leading global provider of mobile operator data, in early January.
The figure equates to 35 percent yearon-year market rise while the country’s mobile user base reached 50.6 million, approximately 95 percent of the total population. SIM card sales of Telenor and Ooredoo, the two foreign operators in rivalry with local supplier MPT (Myanmar Post and Telecommunications), shared a big portion in the continued expansion of the telecom market.
The state-run MPT recorded the narrowest growth and lost a sizeable market share to its foreign competitors, suffering 4.5 points fall to stand at a quota of 43.5 percent in the market. Telenor Myanmar ended 2016 with a market share of 37.5 percent as its subscriptions increased by nearly 39 percent during the year. But the telco added just one point to the share since the rising Ooredoo snatched most market share in the year. Ooredoo Myanmar ended with 19 percent share, adding 4.5 points to the quota following the 66 percent growth of its customer base in the year.
Myanmar recently granted its fourth telecom licence to a joint venture named Myanmar National Tele & Communications (MNTC).
