Mytel

Mytel was granted a telecommunications license on 12 January 2017.{{Cite web|date=2018-02-14|title=Fourth telco MyTel to start selling SIM cards in March|url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/fourth-telco-mytel-start-selling-sim-cards-march.html|access-date=2021-01-11|website=The Myanmar Times}} The company is operated as a joint venture, 49% owned by Viettel, which is controlled by the Vietnamese military, 28% owned by Star High Public Company, which is owned by the Burmese military's Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), and the remaining 23% owned by Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public Co Ltd, a consortium of local companies. Mytel uses telecoms infrastructure owned by MECtel, a separate operator controlled by MEC. The first call made on the network was between Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, and Vietnam's Minister of Defence, Ngo Xuan Lich.

In March 2020, whistleblowing organization Distributed Denial of Secrets published 156 gigabytes of data hacked from the Myanmar Investment Commission.{{Cite web |title=Myanmar Investments |url=https://ddosecrets.com/wiki/Myanmar_Investments |access-date=March 7, 2021 |website=Distributed Denial of Secrets}} The leak also revealed how millions of dollars allegedly flowed from Mytel subscribers to Myanmar military generals,{{Cite web |date=June 10, 2021 |title=How hundreds of millions of dollars from Mytel subscribers will flow to military generals |url=https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/how-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-from-mytel-consumers-will-flow-to-military-generals |access-date=April 24, 2022 |website=Justice for Myanmar}} and exposed business dealings of family members of prominent military leaders.{{Cite web |last1=Conrad |first1=Naomi |last2=Bayer |first2=Julia |last3=Noel |first3=Pedro |date=April 9, 2021 |title=In Myanmar, military matters are a lucrative family affair |url=https://www.dw.com/en/in-myanmar-military-matters-are-a-lucrative-family-affair/a-57132879 |access-date=April 11, 2021 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en-GB}}

Mytel has been criticized for undermining the competitiveness of Myanmar's telecoms market and the military's reassertion of dominance over telecommunications, through its large-scale investments. In June 2017, the government promulgated the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework, including floor pricing rules for mobile fees, which was positioned to give Mytel a market advantage against lower-cost competitors like Ooredoo.{{Cite web|title=Myanmar|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedom-net/2018|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Freedom House|language=en}} Mytel was granted an exemption from floor pricing rules and was allowed to discount its rates after its launch, unlike other competitors. Through its aggressive price-cutting strategy, Mytel was able to capture a market share of 4% (2.4 million subscribers) within two months of its launch.{{Cite web|title=Vietnam carrier stuns rivals in Myanmar with half-price blitz|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Vietnam-carrier-stuns-rivals-in-Myanmar-with-half-price-blitz|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB}} By contrast, Mytel's competitors agreed to abide by the nominal rules of the free market.

Mytel has received mixed reactions from Burmese consumers due to its military links. After its launch, a movement of Burmese netizens launched a viral campaign to boycott the military-backed carrier, over its decision to offer phone numbers that start with the digits 969, which are symbolic of Myanmar's anti-Muslim nationalist movement.{{Cite web|date=2018-06-28|title=Army-linked telco Mytel uproots villagers' plantations to lay fiber optic cables {{!}} Coconuts Yangon|url=https://coconuts.co/yangon/features/army-linked-telco-mytel-uproots-villagers-plantations-lay-fiber-cables/|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Coconuts|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2018-06-14|title=Launch of Army-Backed Mytel Draws Wary Welcome|url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/launch-army-backed-mytel-draws-wary-welcome.html|access-date=2021-01-11|website=The Irrawaddy|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2018-06-12|title=Rumors swirl of MyTel's Buddhist extremist links|url=https://coconuts.co/yangon/news/people-saying-mytel-bed-radical-buddhists/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Coconuts Yangon|language=en-US}}

In 2018, reports emerged that Mytel had run fiber-optic cables through privately owned plantations in Kayin State's Payathonzu without providing prior notice. Mytel has upgraded the Myanmar military's infrastructure, including the army's network of fibre-optic cables.{{Cite web|date=2020-12-20|title=British banks under pressure over £45m loans to firm with links to Myanmar military|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/20/british-banks-under-pressure-over-45m-loans-to-firm-with-links-to-myanmar-military|access-date=2021-01-11|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

In May 2019, a subcontractor of Mytel, Hsan Myo Aung Company, staged a protest in Pathein, over unpaid wages to 20 employees, valued at approximately 40 million kyats.{{Cite web|date=2019-05-31|title=Mytel Employees Protest Unpaid Wages|url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/mytel-employees-protest-unpaid-wages.html|access-date=2021-01-11|website=The Irrawaddy|language=en-US}} In October 2019, Mytel's telecoms cells installed at Shwedagon Pagoda were removed, following a dispute over unpaid rent.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-17|title=Myanmar's Mytel Removes Shwedagon Cells Amid Unpaid Rent Claims|url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-mytel-removes-shwedagon-cells-amid-unpaid-rent-claims.html|access-date=2021-01-11|website=The Irrawaddy|language=en-US}}

In February 2020, Mytel was linked to a $1.2 million disinformation campaign on social media.{{Cite web|title=Facebook removes network of fake accounts promoting military-backed telecom with $1.2m misinformation campaign|url=https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/facebook-removes-network-of-fake-accounts-promoting-military-backed-telecom-with-12m|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Myanmar NOW|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Mytel linked to disinformation campaign {{!}} Myanmar Financial Services Monitor|url=https://finance.frontiermyanmar.com/news/other/mytel-linked-disinformation-campaign|access-date=2021-01-11|website=finance.frontiermyanmar.com}} Facebook banned a Mytel-linked network of two dozen pages and accounts after uncovering that these pages had "started out on a very patriotic and nationalist tone" before shifting to content promoting the Mytel brand, or content criticizing Mytel rivals, Ooredoo Myanmar, MPT and Telenor Myanmar.{{Cite web|last1=Murphy|first1=Hannah|last2=Reed|first2=John|date=2020-02-12|title=Facebook accuses telecoms groups of disinformation tactics|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1096ad54-4d5f-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Financial Times}}

In December 2020, Justice for Myanmar released a major investigation detailing a “web of cronyism and corruption” surrounding Mytel.{{Cite web|title='Destroy your SIM card' - activists call for boycott of Mytel for 'aiding and abetting' the military|url=https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/destroy-your-sim-card-activists-call-for-boycott-of-mytel-for-aiding-and-abetting-the-military|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Myanmar NOW|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Myanmar and Vietnam militaries launch MyTel mobile carrier|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Myanmar-and-Vietnam-militaries-launch-MyTel-mobile-carrier|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB}} The report also noted the Burmese military's ability to harvest personal data from Mytel users for mass surveillance purposes.{{Cite web|date=2020-12-23|title=We are calling for the Myanmar public to boycott Mytel, says Myanmar activist group|url=https://kr-asia.com/we-are-calling-for-the-myanmar-public-to-boycott-mytel-says-myanmar-activist-group|access-date=2021-01-11|website=KrASIA|language=en}} The report prompted additional scrutiny into $60 million in loans provided by British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered to Viettel in connection with Mytel.

In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état in February 2021, Burmese consumers launched a successful domestic boycott movement, targeting products and services linked to the Myanmar military, including Mytel.{{Cite web|title=Anti-coup movement cost junta-owned telecoms company $25m, activists say|url=https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/anti-coup-movement-cost-junta-owned-telecoms-company-25m-activists-say|access-date=2021-11-18|website=Myanmar NOW|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=3 February 2021|title=Myanmar calls for boycott of Tatmadaw linked products and services|url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-calls-boycott-tatmadaw-linked-products-and-services.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221154215/https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-calls-boycott-tatmadaw-linked-products-and-services.html|archive-date=21 February 2021|access-date=3 February 2021|website=The Myanmar Times}} In the first quarter of 2021, Mytel lost US$25 million in profits, and saw its subscriber base decline by 2 million subscribers, down to 10 million as of April 2021. In the first 6 months of 2021, Mytel's sales workforce also decreased by 30%, due to mass resignations. As of November, over 80 Mytel-owned cellular towers had been sabotaged. On 4 November, Mytel's chief financial officer Thein Aung was assassinated by three men on bicycles at his home in Mayangon Township, Yangon.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-04|title=Executive of Myanmar army-linked telecom firm fatally shot|url=https://apnews.com/article/business-myanmar-telecommunications-assassinations-e244447c0b83e15215524a94a326a3fc|access-date=2021-11-05|website=AP NEWS|language=en}} Thein Aung was a former naval officer, and also held executive positions at the military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation.{{Cite web|title=Military businessman and ex-navy officer shot dead near his home in Yangon|url=https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/military-businessman-and-ex-navy-officer-shot-dead-near-his-home-in-yangon|access-date=2021-11-05|website=Myanmar NOW|language=en}}

In January 2025, the US Department of Commerce sanctioned Mytel for providing surveillance and financial support to the junta, enabling its human rights abuses by tracking and identifying individuals and groups, including its soldiers.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-01-10 |title=US Sanctions Myanmar Junta’s Telecom Firm for Spying |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/us-sanctions-myanmar-juntas-telecom-firm-for-spying.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-01-10 |title=Myanmar’s junta-owned telecoms company Mytel added to US sanctions list |url=https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmars-junta-owned-telecoms-company-mytel-added-to-us-sanctions-list/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Myanmar Now |language=en-US}}

{{Portal|Telecommunication}}

• Telecommunications in Myanmar
• Ooredoo Myanmar
• Telenor Myanmar
• Myanma Posts and Telecommunications

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• {{official website|https://mytel.com.mm/}}

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Category:Viettel

Category:Telecommunications companies established in 2017

Category:Mobile phone companies of Myanmar

Category:Internet service providers of Myanmar

Category:Telecommunications companies of Myanmar

Category:2017 establishments in Myanmar