FREEDOM ON THE NET 2016 MYANMAR Obstacles to Access Internet access is improving in Myanmar, as increasing numbers of users go online via cell phones, which are becoming more affordable. Yet internet penetration still ranks among the world’s lowest. The quality of service remains poor because of inadequate infrastructure, and poverty continues to limit citizens’ internet usage. Military conglomerates are still positioned to benefit from the system and manipulate the telecommunications market. Availability and Ease of Access The number of internet users has notably increased over the past two years. The International Telecommunication Union estimated internet penetration at 22 percent in 2015, revising its 2014 estimate from 2 to 12 percent; it was less than 2 percent in 2013.7 Users in most provincial towns have much poorer quality connections in comparison with the few urban cities, let alone those in rural villages. Chronic power outages, service interruptions, and insufficient transmission towers continue to impede efficient internet usage. Private fixed-line internet connections are prohibitively expensive, though there is significant regional variation. While prices are trending downwards, the cost of service during the coverage period remained comparable to the previous year. The one-time installation cost for a home broadband connection from MPT, the dominant state-owned provider, was US$50, plus an annual fee of US$50, with monthly rates from US$17 to US$80 for speeds from 512 Kpbs to 2.5 Mbps. For faster fiber connections, setup costs range from US$200 to US$1,000; in addition to an annual US$60 fee, monthly service, starting at US$100, can run to thousands of dollars per month for speeds up to 100 Mbps.8 Redlink, a private company run by the son of a former military general-turned-house speaker, charges even more: a fiber connection of 2 Mbps cost US$500 to set up, then US$125 per month plus a US$60 annual fee. Since Myanmar’s gross domestic product was just US$980 per capita in 2014, these costs keep personal internet access far out of reach for the majority.9 Mobile penetration in the country reached 65 percent in December 2015, an increase from 30 percent in 2014. This calculation was based on the number of active SIM cards, which totaled 36 million by January 2016. Ericsson’s Q3 2015 Mobility Report names Myanmar as the fourth-fastest growing market in the world.10 MPT has offered mobile phones since the 1990s, but charged from US$2,000 to US$5,000. The price dropped to US$200 in 2012 after the political and economic liberalization in 2011. In 2013 the military-owned MEC and MPT distributed a finite number of SIM cards per month for about US$1.5 each under a state-run lottery. Telenor and Ooredoo introduced competition to the market in 2014 (see ICT Market). However, since they lack infrastructure compared to MPT, their underperforming services are often the impetus for users to subscribe to multiple providers and switch SIM cards to overcome connection issues. 7 International Telecommunication Union, “Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet, 2000-2015,” http://bit.ly/1cblxxY. Based on an exchange rate of MMK 1,000 to $1, fiber service for 100mbps was listed at MMK 7,000,000 in 2015. See, http:// www.mpt.com.mm/en/product-services/fixed-line-internet/. 8 9 International Monetary Fund, “World Economic Outlook Database,” October 2013, http://bit.ly/1DvPAd4. Catherine Trautwein, “Myanmar named fourth-fastest-growing mobile market in the world by Ericsson,” Myanmar Times, November 20, 2015, http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/technology/17727-myanmar-named-fourth-fastestgrowing-mobile-market-in-the-world-by-ericsson.html. 10 www.freedomonthenet.org