Executive summary Myanmar has witnessed tremendous growth in telecom connectivity following the liberalization of the market in 2013; this is reflected in the affordability, access and use indicators. Mobile subscriptions per 100 people reached 80 in 2015, within 18 months of reform. The International Telecommunication Union’s 2016 ICT Development Index ranked Myanmar 140th out of 175 countries. This was four places ahead of Lao PDR, ahead of both Bangladesh and Pakistan, and within striking distance of India. This report presents the findings of LIRNEasia’s 2016 nationally representative survey of mobile and ICT access and use in Myanmar. The survey was conducted among 7,204 15-65 year olds across Myanmar between June and August 2016. Stratified Four Stage Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) Cluster sampling was used to ensure representation of the population of Myanmar within a +/-3% margin of error. The sample covered all states and regions, but excluded 32 townships that were deemed unsafe or inaccessible for research. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using electronic 14 ICTs in Myanmar: 2016 data entry. The 2016 survey was a followup to a baseline survey conducted in 2015 by LIRNEasia on similar topics. a household or common phone. Ninetyfour percent of the calls were made on a mobile device. Access to ICT devices had increased considerably between 2015 and 2016. Household ownership of mobile phones stood at 83%, up from 57% in 2015. On average, there were 2.3 mobile phones per household; the corresponding figure for SIM cards per household was even higher at 2.9. Geographically, the increase in the proportion of households with mobile phones and SIMs has taken place largely in the smaller townships. Mobile ownership increased from 39% in 2015 to 61% in 2016, more than doubling in rural areas. Fifty-eight percent of mobile owners lived in rural areas in 2016. Mobile ownership among females had increased but the gender gap remained, with males being 28% more likely to own a mobile phone than females. Teleuse at an individual level was high, and had improved considerably. The proportion of individuals who said they had never used a phone reduced to 31% from 9%. Nearly half the population had used a phone on the day of the survey in 2016, up from 29% in 2015. This increase in the frequency of calling was observed in both urban and rural areas, and among both males and females. Still, males were more likely to have owned the last phone they used. Females, on the other hand, were twice as likely as males to have used The average expenditure on purchasing a mobile phone was MMK105,198 (USD 87) and the total average monthly spend on top-ups was MMK7,494 (USD 6). Expenditure on top-ups in urban areas was twice as large as rural areas. Over a quarter of active SIM owners owned more than one SIM card; a third of those between the ages of 15 & 33 owned more than one SIM card, while the corresponding figure for older cohorts was lower. Fifty-six percent of those with more than one SIM said this was to get coverage wherever they went. Thirty-nine percent of the population