Digitalizing Myanmar: Connectivity Developments in Political Transitions – Andrea Calderaro 2.3 - Independent Regulator Concerns raised about the national regulator’s lack of independence are justified, especially since an established independent regulator is still absent in Myanmar. Currently the regulatory body in Myanmar is the state controlled Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD), a department within the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT). 27 Before the telecom reforms, the country’s public monopoly on telecoms partially justified the PTD as a regulator,28 however, given the opening of the national market, the urgency to establish a new regulatory independent body is commonly shared among civil society parties and international observers. Defining the separation between a regulatory body and the government is commonly considered to be necessary in order to secure the independency and the neutrality of the telecom market, and protect international investors and the citizens of Myanmar. In its 2011 Telecommunications Regulation Handbook29, the ITU posits that an ideal regulatory structure must be divided into three main functions–policy development, market development, and regulation—that are overseen by parties independent from each other. This regulatory framework includes: 1) The executive branch of the government, which should hold a policy development function. In Myanmar, this is described as the second step in the connectivity process, and the government is indeed leading the discussion of the described telecom law; 2) Private telecommunication operators, which are in charge of developing the market and offering services to citizens. In Myanmar, this is described as the first step in the connectivity process, and is filled by both Ooredoo and Telenor; 27 Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications Department. “About.” http://www.mcpt.gov.mm/mcpt/about-01.htm 28 International Telecommunication Union, 2011. Telecommunications Regulation Handbook, Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank / InfoDev / The International Telecommunication Union. 29 Blackman, C. & Lara S. (Eds.). (2011). Telecommunications Regulation Handbook. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/reg/D-REG-TRH.01-2011-PDF-E.pdf 16