State-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) reduces installation fee by half to make the fixed lines "more affordable" for retail consumers and businesses

State-run Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has announced that it will lower its PSTN (Auto Telephone) line installation fees to K325,000 ($270), down 50 percent from the previous rate of K650,000.

MPT said it aims to make installation of fixed lines “more affordable” for retail consumers and businesses.

“Especially, businesses often need fixed line for fixed phone and ADSL internet. By reducing the installation  rates, we  believe  more  people  and  especially  more  businesses  will  consider installing lines and we’re happy to facilitate more access for new customers,” MPT said in a statement.

In July 2014, MPT, signed a partnership with KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp to join forces in order to upgrade the quality of its network and extend its coverage using advanced technologies. Together, KDDI and Sumitomo have committed to invest over $2 billion dollars to accelerate MPT’s transition.

According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ specialised agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs, Myanmar had a total of 526,792 fixed phone connections in 2014, roughly one fixed phone for every 100 people.

However, with the recent boom in cellphone subscriptions it is unlikely that the new move will help MPT reach its target of increasing fixed phone subscriptions in the country, especially when a smartphone with mobile subscription and internet connection can be bought for as low as $40.

Daw Su Su Htun, a small business owner, who has a fixed phone at her house and plans to get a connection for her new office in Yangon, told Myanmar Business Today, “We have been trying to get a fixed phone but [the procedure is] time consuming and costly. The maintenance charges are also high and we have to frequently pay bribes to linemen who intentionally cut cables and demand money to fix it. It happens almost every month. The telephone cables are also old and they get damaged during the rainy season, and we need to pay for the repairs too.”

She added, “But, I will need a fixed phone for my office. So, the price cut will help a little bit.”

U Tin Min Naing, a fixed phone user for 15 years, told Myanmar Business Today, “When I got my fixed phone subscription it cost me K3 million ($2,500). But if I could buy a cheap cellphone back then I wouldn’t have paid this much money. I don’t think people wants to get fixed phones nowadays as they can get very good smartphones at affordable rates.”

Source: http://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/mpt-slashes-fixed-phone-line-installation-fees-half

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