Myanmar Forges Ahead in ICT

Namali Premawardhana

Myanmar is just a step behind India in information and communication technology （ICT） and， if recent growth trends continue， will mostly likely overtake Asias IT powerhouse in the ICT Development Index next year， according to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union （ITU）.

But Myanmars progress in relation to its ASEAN neighbours could be better， as could its approach to digital literacy and women， the ITU said.

Before the reforms

When the ITU published its Measuring the Information Society Report in 2009， Myanmars telecommunications sector was a closed market， supplied by a state-owned monopoly and a SIM card cost K1.5 million （US$ 1，500）. Out of 154 countries in the index， Myanmar was ranked 119. In the following years， Myanmar was overtaken by many others. In 2012， just before the sector underwent significant reforms， the ITU ranked Myanmar 131 out of 155.

The impact of the reforms and the resulting investments significantly improved network availability and dramatically lowered prices， but understandably， it took a little time for these changes to be reflected in the ITU ranking. The ITU depends on the data that is collected by the ministry and submitted to them periodically.

Even in 2014， Myanmar was still low in the index ranking. For the fifth year running， it was stuck at the bottom of the access ranking， which is based on fixed and mobile subscriptions， international internet bandwidth， household ownership of computers， and internet access. More than half of the Asia-Pacific， on the other hand， had reached mobile penetration of 100 percent or higher， based on multiple-SIM ownership.

The first signs of improvement， nevertheless， had begun to show in Myanmar. The new element of competition in the market was causing the cost of a SIM card to decline steadily. More and more people could now get online. Myanmar advanced two places in the usage ranking， and the ITU reported that the country “almost doubled its [mobile-cellular penetration] rate” during 2012-2013.

Growth in access and use

A year later， there was no ambiguity. Myanmar had risen eight places on the index and jumped 15 places to 156 of 167 countries in the access ranking. It was still at the bottom of the 32 Asia-Pacific countries， but showed the sharpest increase in growth that year after Bhutan.

The phenomenal growth continued. The governments target of 80 SIMs per 100 people over five years was achieved in three-and-a-half years after commencement of the reforms. According to a nationwide sample survey conducted by LIRNEasia， a regional ICT think tank， 83 percent of Myanmar households had mobile phones by July 2016 and mobile phone ownership in rural areas had doubled. More than 90 percent of villages were within coverage areas. As a result， Myanmars ranking in access rose to 144.

The performance with regards to the usage ranking was even more dramatic. The LIRNEasia study showed that 69 percent of 15 to 65-year-olds had a phone. SIM card and mobile phone ownership by household increased by 45 percent and 46 percent respectively since 2015， and livelihood-related use of mobile phones had nearly doubled. Myanmar shot up 22 places in the usage ranking to 129. The countrys overall progress on the index was on a par with the previous year， pushing it up to 140. It was one of only eight countries out of 175 to climb more than five places on the index.

Myanmar in relation to Asia

In the most recent index released in November 2017， Myanmar is ranked 135 out of 176 countries， just one step behind India and there are indications that Myanmar will overtake India in 2018. First， Indias index score has increased by 14 percent while Myanmars has grown by 15 percent. India has climbed four places while Myanmar has climbed five. Second， while Indias score in the access ranking has increased by 11 percent， resulting in a two-place climb from 139 to 137， Myanmars has increased by 13 percent， leading to a jump of five places from 144 to 139. Also， Myanmar is 23 places ahead of India in the usage ranking， up 8 from 129 to 121， while India fell from 142 to 144. Barring Indias radical improvement in the non-ICT-specific skills ranking， Myanmar is likely to overtake India in the 2018 index.

Myanmars next target should be fellow ASEAN member Cambodia， which is currently seven places ahead， at 128. Although Cambodias 4 percent rise in the access ranking is far less impressive than that of Myanmar， its absolute value （4.16） makes it a challenging target. Myanmar is two places behind Cambodia in the usage ranking， but Cambodias score on usage increased by 22 percent from 2.09 to 2.56， less than Myanmars 40 percent from 1.73 in 2016 to 2.43. If the trend continues， Myanmar could soon be just ahead of Cambodia in usage， bringing it much closer to the latter in the 2018 index.

Still room to improve

Two important aspects of ICT development which the ITU does not address are women and digital literacy. Myanmars story of ICT access， use and skills among women and other marginalised communities is less impressive than the broader narrative. The 2016 LIRNEasia data revealed that although more women in Myanmar own a phone now than in 2015， men were 28 percent more likely to own a mobile phone. In addition， nearly half of mobile handset owners require help to perform basic activities with a phone， such as installation of an app， creating logins and passwords and adjusting settings. Women reported higher reliance on support for these activities than men， especially in device-related tasks （i.e. installing apps and adjusting settings） as against information， platform and content-related tasks. If these issues are addressed， more citizens will be included in the ICT success story， and that will be reflected in the ITU index.

Despite Myanmars remarkable gains， there is still a long way to go. The Myanmar Communications Regulatory Commission is yet to be established， although legislation has been prepared and consultations conducted. Capacity-building within the de facto regulatory entity， the Post and Telecommunications Department， is one of the most important tasks.

“Countries rely on solid institutions to survive，” said Dr. Monica Kerrets-Makau， former ICT policy adviser on regulation and universal access in Rwanda and former board director in Kenyas Communications Commission. She was among a team of former regulators from the region who participated in a capacity-building course at the Post and Telecommunications Department in Nay Pyi Taw earlier this year. “The regulatory sector is vital at this point of Myanmars progress.”

“Human resources are the most important factor for a regulatory body that is able to mediate effectively between the different parties concerned，” added Prof. Rohan Samarajiva， chair of LIRNEasia， who directed the course.

Source： The Myanmar Times