Telecom Lead Asia: Airtel and Digicel received confirmation from Myanmar authorities to participate in the final stage of the tender process for one of the two new telecom licences in Myanmar.
Pre-qualification application by Bharti Airtel, India’s #1 telecom player, and Digicel Consortium were accepted by the Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee.
Responses to the invitation to tender are due on 3 June 2013 and an announcement of the two selected pre-qualified applicants that will lead to the award of the new licences is expected on 27 June 2013.
With current mobile penetration below 10 percent in Myanmar, the Digicel consortium is committed to rolling out telecommunications network.
The Myanmar telecom market is important for Airtel as the company has already presence in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — in the Saar region.
Denis O’Brien, Digicel Chairman and founder, said: “On behalf of Digicel and our partners, Quantum Strategic Group and Yoma Strategic Holdings, we are delighted to have had our pre-qualification application accepted.”
Companies such as Vodafone, China Mobile, SingTel, etc. are also keen to bag telecom license in Myanmar.
