Three-in-one fibre lines to be introduced in Rangoon

Tuesday, 12 January 2010 14:06 Mizzima News (News Brief)

Rangoon (Mizzima) - For the first time ever, Rangoon residents will soon be able to enjoy Internet access, watch television and use the telephone from a single fibre line.

The service is to be provided for by private companies, and while the initial rate of charge is still unknown, a monthly fee of 50 Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC), a Burmese equivalent to the US dollar, will reportedly be charged to users.

Sources in the telecommunications industry say the plan to introduce direct fibre lines has been underway for some time and installation in several downtown townships, including Kyuaktada, Pazundaung, Bothathaung, Pabedan, and Hlatha, has been completed.

The new connection will have a local speed of 2.5 gigabytes per second (GBPS), sufficient to allow users to watch television uninterrupted, and will also have satellite memory and allow users to record television programs, a source who wished to remain anonymous told Mizzima.

Local telephone calls will be free of charge and Internet surfing speed is to be maintained at 128 kilobytes per second (KBPS), the source added.

The service is scheduled to be operational by April 2010 and is to eventually be expanded into other districts of Burma’s principle economic hub.