Mytel

Last updated
Mytel
Industry Telecommunications
Founded2017;7 years ago (2017)
Headquarters
Yangon
,
Myanmar
Key people
Khin Maung Soe, CEO
Parent Viettel (49%)
Myanmar Economic Corporation (28%)
Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Co Ltd (23%)
Website mytel.com.mm

Mytel is a major telecommunications company in Myanmar (Burma), as one of four national carriers. Mytel is operated as a joint venture between the Burmese military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence. [1] Mytel has been criticized and scrutinized for serving as a major source of revenue for the Burmese military. [2]

Contents

History

Mytel was granted a telecommunications license on 12 January 2017. [3] The company is operated as a joint venture, 49% owned by Viettel, which is controlled by the Vietnamese military, 28% owned by Star High Public Company, which is owned by the Burmese military's Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), and the remaining 23% owned by Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Co Ltd, a consortium of local companies. [3] Mytel uses telecoms infrastructure owned by MECtel, a separate operator controlled by MEC. [3] The first call made on the network was between Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, and Vietnam's Minister of Defence, Ngo Xuan Lich. [3]

In March 2020, Distributed Denial of Secrets published 156 gigabytes of data hacked from the Myanmar Investment Commission. [4] The leak also revealed how millions of dollars allegedly flowed from Mytel subscribers to Myanmar military generals, [5] and exposed business dealings of family members of prominent military leaders. [6]

Reception

Mytel has been criticized for undermining the competitiveness of Myanmar's telecoms market and the military's reassertion of dominance over telecommunications, through its large-scale investments. [1] In June 2017, the government promulgated the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework, including floor pricing rules for mobile fees, which was positioned to give Mytel a market advantage against lower-cost competitors like Ooredoo. [7] Mytel was granted an exemption from floor pricing rules and was allowed to discount its rates after its launch, unlike other competitors. [1] Through its aggressive price-cutting strategy, Mytel was able to capture a market share of 4% (2.4 million subscribers) only two months after its launch. [8] By contrast, Mytel's competitors agreed to abide by the nominal rules of the free market. [8]

Mytel has received mixed reactions from Burmese consumers due to its military links. After its launch, a movement of Burmese netizens launched a viral campaign to boycott the military-backed carrier, over its decision to offer phone numbers that start with the digits 969, which are symbolic of Myanmar's anti-Muslim nationalist movement. [9] [10] [11]

In 2018, reports emerged that Mytel had run fiber-optic cables through privately owned plantations in Kayin State's Payathonzu without providing prior notice. [9] Mytel has upgraded the Myanmar military's infrastructure, including the army's network of fibre-optic cables. [12]

In May 2019, a subcontractor of Mytel, Hsan Myo Aung Company, staged a protest in Pathein, over unpaid wages to 20 employees, valued at approximately 40 million kyats. [13] In October 2019, Mytel's telecoms cells installed at Shwedagon Pagoda were removed, following a dispute over unpaid rent. [14]

In February 2020, Mytel was linked to a $1.2 million disinformation campaign on social media. [15] [16] Facebook banned a Mytel-linked network of two dozen pages and accounts after uncovering that these pages had "started out on a very patriotic and nationalist tone" before shifting to content promoting the Mytel brand, or content criticizing Mytel rivals, Ooredoo Myanmar, MPT and Telenor Myanmar. [17]

In December 2020, Justice for Myanmar released a major investigation detailing a “web of cronyism and corruption” surrounding Mytel. [18] [19] The report also noted the Burmese military's ability to harvest personal data from Mytel users for mass surveillance purposes. [20] The report prompted additional scrutiny into $60 million in loans provided by British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered to Viettel in connection with Mytel. [12]

In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état in February 2021, Burmese consumers launched a successful domestic boycott movement, targeting products and services linked to the Myanmar military, including Mytel. [21] [22] In the first quarter of 2021, Mytel lost US$25 million in profits, and saw its subscriber base decline by 2 million subscribers, down to 10 million as of April 2021. [21] In the first 6 months of 2021, Mytel's sales workforce also decreased by 30%, due to mass resignations. [21] As of November, over 80 Mytel-owned cellular towers had been sabotaged. [22] On 4 November, Mytel's chief financial officer Thein Aung was assassinated by three men on bicycles at his home in Mayangon Township, Yangon. [23] Thein Aung was a former naval officer, and also held executive positions at the military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation. [24]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Myanmar". Freedom House. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  2. ↑ Strangio, Sebastian. "Report Details Military Links of Major Myanmar Telco Firm". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Fourth telco MyTel to start selling SIM cards in March". The Myanmar Times. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. ↑ "Myanmar Investments". Distributed Denial of Secrets. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "How hundreds of millions of dollars from Mytel subscribers will flow to military generals". Justice for Myanmar . June 10, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  6. ↑ Conrad, Naomi; Bayer, Julia; Noel, Pedro (April 9, 2021). "In Myanmar, military matters are a lucrative family affair". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Myanmar". Freedom House. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  8. 1 2 "Vietnam carrier stuns rivals in Myanmar with half-price blitz". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  9. 1 2 "Army-linked telco Mytel uproots villagers' plantations to lay fiber optic cables | Coconuts Yangon". Coconuts. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  10. ↑ "Launch of Army-Backed Mytel Draws Wary Welcome". The Irrawaddy. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  11. ↑ "Rumors swirl of MyTel's Buddhist extremist links". Coconuts Yangon. 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  12. 1 2 "British banks under pressure over £45m loans to firm with links to Myanmar military". the Guardian. 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  13. ↑ "Mytel Employees Protest Unpaid Wages". The Irrawaddy. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  14. ↑ "Myanmar's Mytel Removes Shwedagon Cells Amid Unpaid Rent Claims". The Irrawaddy. 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  15. ↑ "Facebook removes network of fake accounts promoting military-backed telecom with $1.2m misinformation campaign". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  16. ↑ "Mytel linked to disinformation campaign | Myanmar Financial Services Monitor". finance.frontiermyanmar.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  17. ↑ Murphy, Hannah; Reed, John (2020-02-12). "Facebook accuses telecoms groups of disinformation tactics". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  18. ↑ "'Destroy your SIM card' - activists call for boycott of Mytel for 'aiding and abetting' the military". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  19. ↑ "Myanmar and Vietnam militaries launch MyTel mobile carrier". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  20. ↑ "We are calling for the Myanmar public to boycott Mytel, says Myanmar activist group". KrASIA. 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  21. 1 2 3 "Anti-coup movement cost junta-owned telecoms company $25m, activists say". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  22. 1 2 "Myanmar calls for boycott of Tatmadaw linked products and services". The Myanmar Times. 3 February 2021. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "Executive of Myanmar army-linked telecom firm fatally shot". AP NEWS. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  24. ↑ "Military businessman and ex-navy officer shot dead near his home in Yangon". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
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