then. The 2014 Census reports that 32.9% of the population had access to a mobile phone at the time the census was conducted in March-April 2014. 108 In the first quarter of 2015, Myanmar added more mobile subscriptions than any country in the world except for India and China. 109 A recent study of ICT needs and usage across 8,400 households in Myanmar found, amongst other things, that more than 90% of the wards/villages have coverage (i.e. can get a signal) and have re-load locations for topping up mobile pre-pay credit. However the purchase of SIM and handset was still limited to urban areas. 110 The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology’s (MCIT) policy framework for developing Myanmar’s telecommunications sector centres on increasing overall teledensity/mobile penetration, improving the affordability of telecommunication services in urban and rural areas, and providing the population and enterprises the freedom to choose their telecommunications services and providers. Figure 2: Myanmar Mobile Penetration Rate 2000-2015 National Telecommunications Rollout Issuing telecoms operator licenses provided an opportunity for the Government to set ambitious targets for improvement in the coverage and types of ICTs on offer in the country. MCIT awarded 15-year operator licenses to wholly owned subsidiaries of Norway’s Telenor Group (Telenor Myanmar Limited), and Qatar’s Ooredoo (Ooredoo Myanmar Limited) that took effect on 5 February 2014. 108 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, "2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, Census Report Volume 2-A” (May 2015). 109 Myanmar Times, “Myanmar third for mobile grown” (15 July 2015). 110 See further, H Galpaya, “Knowledge, information and communication habits and needs in Myanmar: Stories from the field” ICTD2015 Conference (May 2015). CHAPTER 3: SECTOR-LEVEL IMPACTS 89 3