Section 4 | HERE AND NOW also oppose unprofitable “last-mile” inclusivity solutions via the Universal Service Fund strategy. While their corporate and individual identities as well as their operations are for the most part protected by elaborate webs of cronyism and opaque business practices, some activists have successfully exposed evidence by following the “paper trail” related to registering offshore companies, which was a popular option to evade sanctions, which made import/export and international banking difficult. One fascinating example of how power has changed hands in the telecommunications sector involves SkyLink Communications Ltd. According to a 2013 exposé by the International Center for Investigative Journalism, SkyLink was registered in the British Virgin Islands by the Singaporean-headquartered Portcullis TrustNet on behalf of former dictator U Ne Win’s son-in-law U Aye Zaw Win in the 1990s.265 “Self-styled as the largest independent operator in Asia,” TrustNet had faced allegations of data breaches and facilitating tax evasion by relatives of region dictators, according to the ICIJ. In 2000 SkyLink had a $114 million deal with MPT to install a Global System for Mobile communications to support 135,000 GSM mobile phones in thirteen cities, which was (among other benefits) to bring the price of cell phones down from $6,000 to $1,540 each.266 A year later, the system still had not been implemented when Brigadier-General Win Tin, Minister for Telecommunications, Post and Telegraph, was replaced by Brigadier-General Thein Zaw.267 Two years later, U Aye Zaw Win and his three sons (Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win, and Zwe Ne Win) were imprisoned and sentenced to death for treason.268 While they languished in prison, the United Wa State Party (UWSP) gradually acquired almost 100 percent of SkyLink, at the time (2004) the country’s only GSM cellular operator.269 The telecoms operator was initially run by Aik Htain and Aik Hauk, both nephews of United Wa State Army chief Pao Yu-chang; more recent information is unavailable. General U Ne Win formally ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 1988, and retained power as party leader until 2002. 266 San Tun Aung, “Mobile Phone Network Ready in ‘Weeks,’” Myanmar Times & Business Review, vol 1, no.10, March 6–12, 2000 (archived at burmalibrary.org). 267 Hurriyet Daily News, “Telecom Minister Axed in Myanmar,” May 12, 2001. 268 Wai Moe, “Burma’s Fallen First Family,” Irrawaddy, March 9, 2011; Ah Thone Lone, “Ne Win’s Grandson Urges Government to Free More,” Myanmar Refugees International, November 16, 2013. 269 Irrawaddy, “UWSP Diversifies into Wireless Telecoms,” August 2004. 265 Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 82