Who buys and controls the CCTV? Back to contents 50 Who builds and supplies this technology? Different companies play the role of vendor and implementer within Myanmar’s smart cities. Vendors provide the infrastructure and technology, while implementers purchase, install, and operate systems. In Yangon and Naypyidaw, even though local companies were selected to implement CCTV systems, all were found to have purchased CCTV equipment from Huawei.97 This process was reversed in Mandalay whereby Huawei won the tender directly to sell their products, while two local companies, Ace and Zarni Electronics, were assigned to implement the installation.98 Little information was found about the two local companies while conducting the research. Nonetheless, the available information shows that the vast majority of the infrastructure is provided by the same actor, i.e. Huawei. Given the integrated nature of CCTV footage, it is also necessary to ask which companies beyond Huawei form part of the mix in terms of maintaining equipment, repairs, ensuring smooth software upgrades and solving related issues, and training police and military staff to operate these systems, etc. “Regardless of the procurement process used, ARTICLE 19 and Digital Rights Collective have found that Huawei equipment was ultimately deployed irrespective of the implementing company. Huawei has an almost universal presence in providing basic equipment.” While Mandalay’s CCTV contract with Huawei during the NLD government term made headlines, there was relatively less public awareness of Naypyidaw’s bigger and earlier CCTV installation project. The city