Final Report Chapter 1 Introduction CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of Survey In accordance with presentation by MPT (Myanma Posts and Telecommunications) at Japan-Myanmar ICT Workshop held in Myanmar on January 2013, current ICT infrastructure status in Myanmar is as follows:  Telephone Service Density by the end of 2012:  Fixed communications: 1%;  Mobile communications: 10%  Internet Service Density ( Users): 1% Due to import restriction and lack of funds under many years of economic sanction, improvement of communication infrastructure had not been implemented properly. Furthermore, due to lack of efficient network design under aging facilities, there are some problems in speech quality (comfort and accuracy), connection quality (swiftness in information transmission) and stability quality (stability in communication). Reform in the political and economic spheres by Thein Sein’s administration extended to telecommunication service and substantial reduction of the usage fees resulted to rapid increase of users of communication services. It is expected that the demand of communication services will expand at an accelerating rate from now on, while current status of the development of the communication network is delayed even in major cities including Yangon, Mandalay and Nayptitaw. This situation is one of factors preventing the improvement of civil life and economic development. In addition, an international gateway is currently only one in Yangon with lacking in backup system. Since provision of stable communication service is a base for all economic activities and civil life, nation-wide improvement of the communication network is required for balanced development of the nation. Among them, the improvement of the communication network in major cities (Yangon, Mandalay and Nayptitaw) at the center of economic and commercial activities is an urgent need. Under the above circumstances, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in Myanmar set a goal to increase telecommunication density including mobile phone up to 75% to 80% by the end of 2016. At Japan-Myanmar top-level meeting held on April 2012, bilateral cooperation in ICT sector was discussed as high priority and agreed on cooperation in ICT sector. Following the agreement at top-level meeting, Japanese Government decided to carry out the Preparatory Survey on The Project for Improvement of Communication Networks, consisting the following:  Urgent Improvement of Telecommunication Networks covering major 3 cities (Yangon, Mandalay, and Nayptitaw) to be implemented under Japan Grant Aid; and  Improvement of Telecommunication Networks covering telecommunication networks to be implemented under Japanese ODA Loan. This report describes the result of the preparatory survey for improvement of Telecommunication Networks covering telecommunication networks to be implemented under 1-1