Tuesday, 29 May 2012 12:55 Phone Thaw Zin
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burmese SIM card sales brought in about US$ 112 million during the past month, according to ministry figures. The sale of SIM cards is controlled and allocated periodically by the government.
The sales came from GSM SIM cards that sold for 200,000 kyat each (about US$ 250), and WCDMA SIM cards that sold for 250,000 kyat each, according to Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT). The price of SIM cards in Burma is artificially high because of government control and market factors.
Consumer advocates have called on the government to sell SIM cards for about 5,000 kyat.
Sales of the GSM SIM cards started on April 9, and WCDMA SIM cards on April 23. More than 400,000 GSM SIM cards and 40,000 WCDMA SIM cards have been sold up to May 2, according to MPT figures.
More than 150,000 GSM SIM cards and 24,000 WCDMA SIM cards were sold in Rangoon Region, in sales totaling 37 billion kyat.
The sales amount in Rangoon Region, 37 billion kyat, is more than 8.5 times larger than the budget allocation for Karenni State for the fiscal year.
More than 58,000 GSM SIM cards and 4,200 WCDMA SIM cards were sold in Mandalay Region.
More than 440,000 GSM and WCDMA SIM cards have been sold. If every phone owner made only a one-minute call per a day, MPT would earn phone charges of 22 million kyat per day.
Meanwhile, a local journal, News Watch, reported that some users said their GSM SIM cards did not work well in Mandalay, and they resold the cards at a price of around 150,000 kyat.
Earlier, a rumour was going round that SIM cards would be introduced in late May that sell for about 100,000 kyat, but MPT denied the rumour.
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burmese SIM card sales brought in about US$ 112 million during the past month, according to ministry figures. The sale of SIM cards is controlled and allocated periodically by the government.
The sales came from GSM SIM cards that sold for 200,000 kyat each (about US$ 250), and WCDMA SIM cards that sold for 250,000 kyat each, according to Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT). The price of SIM cards in Burma is artificially high because of government control and market factors.
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| A crowd waits to buy SIM cards outside an Elite Tech mobile shop in Rangoon in April 2012. Photo: Mizzima / Ye Min |
Consumer advocates have called on the government to sell SIM cards for about 5,000 kyat.
Sales of the GSM SIM cards started on April 9, and WCDMA SIM cards on April 23. More than 400,000 GSM SIM cards and 40,000 WCDMA SIM cards have been sold up to May 2, according to MPT figures.
More than 150,000 GSM SIM cards and 24,000 WCDMA SIM cards were sold in Rangoon Region, in sales totaling 37 billion kyat.
The sales amount in Rangoon Region, 37 billion kyat, is more than 8.5 times larger than the budget allocation for Karenni State for the fiscal year.
More than 58,000 GSM SIM cards and 4,200 WCDMA SIM cards were sold in Mandalay Region.
More than 440,000 GSM and WCDMA SIM cards have been sold. If every phone owner made only a one-minute call per a day, MPT would earn phone charges of 22 million kyat per day.
Meanwhile, a local journal, News Watch, reported that some users said their GSM SIM cards did not work well in Mandalay, and they resold the cards at a price of around 150,000 kyat.
Earlier, a rumour was going round that SIM cards would be introduced in late May that sell for about 100,000 kyat, but MPT denied the rumour.
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