Norway's Telenor group is counting on
the competence of its executives, outsourcing, and planned local and
global partnerships to establish a strong presence in Myanmar's telecom
market.
One of its experienced executives is
Petter Furberg, who was recently appointed chief executive officer of
Telenor Myanmar, effective from when the company receives formal
approval from that country's authorities. Furberg currently serves as
chief financial officer of Thailand's Total Access Communication (DTAC),
of which the Norwegian telecom group is a majority shareholder.
Furberg said Telenor Myanmar's long-term ambition was to become the market leader.
He added that the parent company had
brought the best people in their fields to help Telenor Myanmar rapidly
establish a modern telecommunications network and related services.
On June 27, the Myanmar government
announced that Telenor Myanmar and Ooredoo, formerly known as Qatar
Telecom, were the winners of mobile operating licences out of 11
finalists in the international bidding for two licences to build a
nationwide mobile telecom network. The government is in talks with both
firms on the final process of awarding the licences within 90 days after
announcing their names.
Furberg said Telenor Myanmar would
launch the service within eight to nine months after the official
awarding of the licence. It aims to cover 60 per cent of the population
in the first year before rising past 95 per cent within five years. The
company plans to create more than 70,000 points of sale for SIM cards
within five years. However, he declined to specify an investment plan.
The licences allow both firms to utilise both 900-megahertz and
2.1-gigahertz spectra to provide service. Telenor Myanmar will start 2G
service on 900-megahertz and 3G service on 2.1-gigahertz from Day 1. It
plans to make the service affordable: The maximum SIM card price will be
around 1,500 kyat (Bt49) and maximum voice charge will be around 25
kyat (80 satang) a minute.
All of the appointments of Telenor
Myanmar's executive management team are pending approval from the
government. The Norwegian parent appointed Tipayarat Kaewsringarm as
chief people officer of Telenor Myanmar. Previously with DTAC, she has
held a number of senior positions, including chief people officer. Lars
Erik Tellmann has been appointed chief financial officer of Telenor
Myanmar.
He was previously senior vice president of Telenor Asia supporting implementation of cross-border projects.
Prathet Tankuranun has been appointed
chief technology officer. Formerly he was head of DTAC's network
operation division overseeing the company's establishment of
third-generation wireless broadband in Thailand. Sharad Mehrotra has
been appointed chief marketing officer. Previously the head of Telenor
Asia's distribution programme, he was responsible for achieving regional
synergies and scale in all five of the firm's Asian operations.
Furberg said that at the initial stage
Telenor Myanmar would leverage on local and global partners in many
fields as well as outsourcing to establish the presence of its
infrastructure, distribution network, and services.
He said competition in the telecom
market would bring innovation and benefit to Myanmar consumers. He
acknowledged there were some challenges, including poor infrastructure,
especially the electricity supply, and the scattered population.
source: Eleven Myanmar
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