State-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT) is set to sign a partnership agreement with Japanese operator KDDI by the end of this month which will see the Japanese firm taking control of MPT’s day-to-day operations. The Myanmar Times quotes Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) official U Than Tun Aung as saying: ‘The process has been delayed for many months because so many steps are required to negotiate with MPT, since it is a state-owned business. The agreement is going to be signed at the end of the month.’ MPT has been looking for a foreign firm to help manage its business in the run-up to the entry of two new overseas players, Telenor and Ooredoo, which are due to launch mobile networks later this year. Negotiations were also held with Orange Group of France and Singapore’s SingTel.
Separately, Ooredoo has announced the successful completion of the first voice and data calls between its own 3G mobile network and that of its fellow newly-licensed operator, Telenor. Ooredoo CEO Ross Cormack said: ‘It is important that operators do collaborate to enable total connectivity and choice for customers. We hope to be able to progress our work in connecting to the existing MPT network in the near future.’