• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Army-Backed Mytel Fined Nearly $200,000 for Giving Away Free SIM Cards

San Yamin Aung by San Yamin Aung
July 18, 2019
in Business
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing (center) attends Mytel’s launch at the Pullman Yangon Centerpoint hotel in Yangon in June 2018. / Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing / Facebook

Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing (center) attends Mytel’s launch at the Pullman Yangon Centerpoint hotel in Yangon in June 2018. / Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing / Facebook

11.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON—Military-backed telecom operator Mytel has been fined 300 million kyats (about US$197,800) by the country’s Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD) for violating the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework by offering free SIM cards.

In an announcement released on Thursday, the PTD said it had imposed a total of five legal sanctions, mostly warnings, on three telecom operators—Mytel, Telenor and Amara Communications—for breaking its rules and regulations since January. Of those five, three were imposed on Mytel. Operated in affiliation with Viettel, a telecom provider owned by Vietnam’s Defense Ministry, Mytel is Myanmar’s fourth-largest telecom operator after MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo. Amara and Telenor were warned in May and June respectively for using microwave links without permission and breaching the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework.

Mytel is 49-percent owned by Viettel, and 28-percent by Star High Company, a subsidiary of the Myanmar Army’s Economic Holdings Ltd. A consortium of 11 local companies owns the rest.

RelatedPosts

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

June 13, 2025
319
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

June 11, 2025
926
Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

June 6, 2025
2.5k

According to the announcement, a 300-million-kyat fine was imposed in March this year. The amount is believed to be equivalent to 5 percent of the operator’s income, in line with Article 41(a) of the operational license bylaw, which states that a violator faces a fine of 5 percent of its revenue among others forms of action, such as warnings and suspension of their operational license.

The military-backed telecom operator has already been warned twice this year—in May and June—under Article 57(a) of the Telecommunications Law for breaching directives and regulations in the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework and for failing to follow licensing agreement rules. The article states that violators can be punished with the withdrawal or suspension of their operation license, or receive a warning.

U Zaw Min Oo, chief external relations officer of Mytel Company, said the 300-million-kyat fine in March and the warning in June were imposed because the firm provided free SIM cards to attract customers when they entered the market.

He said salespersons of Mytel, especially those based outside Yangon, offered free SIM cards—for which the usual market price is 1,500 kyats—as they were eager for sales. He said at that time, the salespersons didn’t understand the existing regulations clearly.

“They offered free SIM cards as they were so eager for sales. People already have SIM cards, and they wouldn’t buy them if we sold them, and thus we offered them [for free],” he said.

The spokesperson said that under the regulations, offering free SIM cards is not allowed.

“People would think a fine of 300 million kyats [suggests] a major law violation, but it’s not,” he said.

The other warning in May was issued because the firm gave wrong database information, he said.

U Zaw Min Oo added that if the Ministry of Transport and Communications allowed free competition among operators, such cases wouldn’t occur.

The company was launched in June last year. The official launch event in Yangon on June 9, 2018 was attended by army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Tran Don, and nearly a dozen generals from both countries. During the launch, the company said it would invest up to US$1.3 billion in Myanmar.

However, Mytel has had a bumpy ride right from the start. One month after its launch, the company was ordered by the PTD to halt its “Shake Mytel” program, which offers a “free” service to its customers, saying it was in violation of fair competition rules.

In May this year, employees of the telecom operator staged a protest against the military-affiliated company over pay disputes in Pathein, the Irrawaddy Region capital. The protestors said they had not been paid for more than a year, and claimed that the company owed more than 20 workers around 40 million kyats combined.

Mobile penetration in Myanmar has skyrocketed since Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo rolled out their networks in 2014, breaking a monopoly by state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) that for many years had put the price of a SIM card out of reach for most people.

In a joint announcement in February 2018, MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo said they had a combined 53 million subscribers. MPT, which partnered with Japan’s KDDI in 2014, led the way with 25 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 19 million and Ooredoo with 9.5 million.

According to Viettel, Mytel had 5 million subscribers in Myanmar at the end of 2018.

You May Also Like This Story:

Mytel Employees Protest Unpaid Wages

Your Thoughts …
Tags: competitionfineMilitaryMytelpricing frameworkPTDregulationTatmadawTelecomVietnamViettel
San Yamin Aung

San Yamin Aung

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns
War Against the Junta

AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns

by The Irrawaddy
December 18, 2024
25.3k

Ethnic army reportedly poised to capture regime’s last stronghold in Rakhine State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar General in Charge of Shan State Disaster Handed Surprise Promotion
Burma

Myanmar General in Charge of Shan State Disaster Handed Surprise Promotion

by The Irrawaddy
February 5, 2024
24.4k

Naing Naing Oo elevated to Lieutenant-General and made chief of powerful Bureau of Special Operations No. 2, in a reshuffle...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Chief of Eastern Command Purged After Karenni Defeats
Burma

Myanmar’s Chief of Eastern Command Purged After Karenni Defeats

by The Irrawaddy
January 12, 2024
20.1k

Major-General Hla Moe is reportedly the latest junta commander to pay the price for sweeping gains made by resistance forces. 

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts
Analysis

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 20, 2024
16.7k

Three major operations to retake territory from ethnic armies and their allies are being hampered by troop shortages, experts say.

Read moreDetails
Power-Drunk Junta Tries Selling Myanmar Beer at Gunpoint
Business

Power-Drunk Junta Tries Selling Myanmar Beer at Gunpoint

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 14, 2023
13.8k

Consumer boycott enters new phase as generals launch armed counter-offensive at shops and pubs in Yangon.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Orders All Security Personnel to Frontline as Losses Mount in Hard-Hit Regional Commands
Burma

Myanmar Junta Orders All Security Personnel to Frontline as Losses Mount in Hard-Hit Regional Commands

by The Irrawaddy
May 31, 2024
13.5k

Full-time military service order covers soldiers, personnel, police and border guards in eight regional commands.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
The Day Myanmar’s Independence Hero was Assassinated

The Day Myanmar’s Independence Hero was Assassinated

Rakhine State Parliament Speaker U San Kyaw Hla

Federal Union Won’t Be Built with Guns: Rakhine Parliament Speaker

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
926

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • High-Level Ministerial Meeting Held to Speed Up Preparations for Myanmar Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.