(Fornebu 30.01.2014) Telenor Group today announced that it has signed an
agreement with the Union Government of Myanmar for a nationwide
telecommunications license. The license includes spectrum in the 900MHz and
2.1GHz bands and is valid for 15 years. Telenor aims to provide accessible and
affordable mobile communications to people across Myanmar, and will launch
services within eight months after the license is awarded.
"The people of Myanmar are ready for world-class mobile services and Telenor is
ready to deliver it," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor
Group.
"A major milestone has been passed with the signing of the nationwide
telecommunications license agreement with the Myanmar government. This is the
start of an exciting journey in Myanmar's development, which Telenor will
support through the delivery of world-class mobile services, responsible
business practices and high standards that we live by in all of our markets,"
added Baksaas.
With a population of around 60 million, of which less than 10 percent have
access to mobile services, Myanmar represents a strong business opportunity for
Telenor in Asia. Telenor Group will build on its global and regional experience
to establish Telenor Myanmar as a successful mass market operator.
There was record interest for the license award process in Myanmar with more
than 91 companies expressing interest to participate. Following announcement on
June 27 last year of the successful applicants, Telenor entered into
consultation with the authorities to finalise details of the policy framework.
"The license is a product of an extensive consultation process with the
Government of Myanmar and international organisations. It now represents an
acceptable framework that we believe will go a long way to provide the necessary
long-term predictability that Telenor requires when it formally starts
operations in Myanmar," said Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President of Telenor
Group and Head of Telenor's Operations in Asia.
To secure a rapid roll-out, Telenor has already appointed a management team and
has initiated ongoing recruitment of employees on all levels. Currently, the
company has a workforce of 150, and is expected to hire 1,000 full-time
employees by the end of 2014.
"We are fully focused on a rapid roll-out of our network and establishing an
extensive distribution system to make services easily available to the
population. By offering high-quality products and excellent customer experience,
we aim to create loyalty and trust with our customers in Myanmar," said Petter
Furberg, CEO of Telenor Myanmar.
Telenor will build a state-of-the-art mobile network using HSPA and LTE-ready
technologies, and plans to provide network coverage for 90% of the population in
Myanmar within five years. Voice and data services over 2G and 3G will be
commercially launched as Telenor's initial offering, ensuring that consumers get
excellent voice quality and high-speed data connectivity.
Telenor targets EBITDA break-even in Myanmar within three years after the
license award. The total peak funding, defined as the license fee plus
accumulated losses until operating cash flow break-even is expected to be around
USD 1 billion. The license fee is USD 500 million.
Analyst and media conference
Telenor Group will hold a press and analyst conference shortly, at the Telenor
Group Visitor Centre. Further details to be provided in a separate invitation.
About Telenor
Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication
services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 12 markets in the Nordic
region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of
42.95 per cent (economic stake 33 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 17
markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world's major
mobile operators with 161 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated
operations per Q3 2013, revenues in 2012 of NOKÂ 102 billion, and a workforce
of nearly 34,000.
Contact
Tor Odland
VP Communications
Telenor Group Region Asia
E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com
Mobile: +66 82 479 4242
Glenn Mandelid
VP Communications
Head of Media Relations
Telenor Group
E-mail: glenn.mandelid@telenor.com
Mobile: +47 92 66 13 00
Marianne Moe
Head of Investor Relations
Telenor Group
E-mail: marianne.moe@telenor.com
Mobile: +47 91 61 76 31
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Source: Telenor via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1757954]
