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]
 | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Khin Maung Soe, CEO |
| Parent | Viettel (49%) Myanmar Economic Corporation (28%) Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Co Ltd (23%) |
| Website | mytel |
History
editMytel 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
editMytel 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
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c "Myanmar". Freedom House. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ Strangio, Sebastian. "Report Details Military Links of Major Myanmar Telco Firm". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b c d "Fourth telco MyTel to start selling SIM cards in March". The Myanmar Times. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Myanmar Investments". Distributed Denial of Secrets. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ "How hundreds of millions of dollars from Mytel subscribers will flow to military generals". Justice for Myanmar. June 10, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ^ Conrad, Naomi; Bayer, Julia; Noel, Pedro (April 9, 2021). "In Myanmar, military matters are a lucrative family affair". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "Myanmar". Freedom House. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b "Vietnam carrier stuns rivals in Myanmar with half-price blitz". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b "Army-linked telco Mytel uproots villagers' plantations to lay fiber optic cables | Coconuts Yangon". Coconuts. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Launch of Army-Backed Mytel Draws Wary Welcome". The Irrawaddy. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Rumors swirl of MyTel's Buddhist extremist links". Coconuts Yangon. 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b "British banks under pressure over £45m loans to firm with links to Myanmar military". the Guardian. 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Mytel Employees Protest Unpaid Wages". The Irrawaddy. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Myanmar's Mytel Removes Shwedagon Cells Amid Unpaid Rent Claims". The Irrawaddy. 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Facebook removes network of fake accounts promoting military-backed telecom with $1.2m misinformation campaign". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Mytel linked to disinformation campaign | Myanmar Financial Services Monitor". finance.frontiermyanmar.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ Murphy, Hannah; Reed, John (2020-02-12). "Facebook accuses telecoms groups of disinformation tactics". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "'Destroy your SIM card' - activists call for boycott of Mytel for 'aiding and abetting' the military". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "Myanmar and Vietnam militaries launch MyTel mobile carrier". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ "We are calling for the Myanmar public to boycott Mytel, says Myanmar activist group". KrASIA. 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ a b c "Anti-coup movement cost junta-owned telecoms company $25m, activists say". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Executive of Myanmar army-linked telecom firm fatally shot". AP NEWS. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ "Military businessman and ex-navy officer shot dead near his home in Yangon". Myanmar NOW. Retrieved 2021-11-05.