Digitalizing Myanmar: Connectivity Developments in Political Transitions – Andrea Calderaro over seventeen countries between Europe and South East Asia.31 With its 100Gbs technology, this will significantly improve the connectivity capability of the region, particularly in Myanmar. As the government will be the only controller of such infrastructure, potential new ISPs aiming to offer their services in the country will be forced to purchase broadband through the government, a condition that does not lay a foundation for more open and secure national internet infrastructure. Policy Implementations I have already discussed some of the criticisms facing the current telecom law, but there are some issues that the law fails to address, leading to the need for the implementation of new regulations. Legislation for the governance of internet infrastructure As mentioned above, new regulations should be implemented in order to decrease the government control of national broadband. This will facilitate new ISPs entering the market and secure their independence. Right to Privacy The new telecom law, and Myanmar legislation in general, lacks regulation regarding citizen privacy and data retention. The newly-licensed mobile operators, namely Telenor, state in their policies that they secure the privacy of their subscribers in accordance with local legislation. The lack of legislation in Myanmar, however, does not help companies respect their commitments to subscribers, and does not protect citizens. A new regulation concerning the right of privacy should therefore be developed. Cybercrime laws The 2004 Electronic Transaction Law (ETL) included legislation on cybercrime, but this law came before the democratization process and, therefore, before the 31 TeleGeography. “Cable compendium: a guide to the week’s submarine and terrestrial developments.” Retrieved from http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2014/03/07/cable-compendium-aguide-to-the-weeks-submarine-and-terrestrial-developments/ 20

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