MyTel to spend USD1.5bn on 4G network rollout

Vietnamese telecoms group Viettel has unveiled plans for its Myanmar wireless joint venture Myanmar National Tele & Communications (MNTC), which it co-owns with Myanmar National Telecom Holding – a consortium of eleven local firms – and Star High Public Company, a subsidiary of Myanmar military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), the latter of which already has a presence in the market as MECTel. MNTC, which will operate under the MyTel brand, will launch a 4G-only network in the first quarter of 2018, leapfrogging 2G and 3G technologies, Vietnamese news outlet Bizhub writes, citing senior MyTel officials. The operator is aiming to roll out a total of 7,200 base transceiver stations (BTS), covering 90% of the population, and supported by 33,000km of fibre-optic cabling. In addition, MyTel will provide internet services to 1,350 schools along with computers and software. In total, the deployment is expected to cost around USD1.5 billion, of which Viettel will stump up 49%. Viettel also noted that it planning to apply domestic charges for users roaming between Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.