Frustration and fury have been expressed by representatives of Burmese IT companies, including the semi-governmental Yatanarpon Teleport Company, after it emerged that FTTx (Fiber Transfer to X) contracts previously agreed with the military government were to be suspended in favor of a deal with tycoon Tay Za and an IT firm run by the junta's proxy party to establish a dual-monopoly of Burma's broadband networks.
Most of the affected firms have already installed FTTx services in Rangoon and Mandalay, according to agreed designated zones, and stand to lose their investments.
FTTx is a generic term for any broadband network architecture that uses optical fiber to replace all or part of the typical communication systems, including Internet, television and telephone.
Mostly based Yatanarpon Teleport located near city of Pyin Oo Lwin, the companies signed BOT system contracts with the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs [MCPT] in September, sources close to these companies told The Irrawaddy. Many of the deals involved partnership with Yatanarpon Teleport, the country's largest IT firm.
The companies currently holding FTTx contracts are: E-Lite Company, Red Link, High the Princess, Fortune International, MDS, Kinetic Myanmar, Sky Net, and Fisca.
According to the sources, all contracts will soon be handed to the E-Lite owned by Burma's top businessman Tay Za, who is blacklisted under Western sanctions, and the ITCS, which is owned and controlled by the junta's political proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
“We have been working on these contracts for four or five months and have already spent a lot of money in implementing operations,” said a representative of one of the affected companies. “Now we are told to stop. We have been sidelined in favor of Tay Za.”
He said that billions of kyat, or millions of dollars, have already been spent by the affected firms on setting up the necessary infrastructure in Rangoon alone.
“By this way, I don't see Burma as a potential place for foreign companies to work,” he added.
“Our contract is for five years,” said a Sky Net staffer. “But now E-Lite and [USDP-run] ITCS will take over all the IT business in Rangoon. We are being kicked out.
“What about the investment we have outlaid? We are being forced to terminate our business in the middle of operations,” he said.
He add that the business climate in Burma is completely unfair, and that Elite is in a privileged position because of Tay Za's close connection to the military junta.
There are currently 13 WiFi zones in Rangoon, a number that will increase once the FTTx system is up and running. FTTx, unlike ordinary communications technology, can offer high-speed data transfer via underground fiber-optic cables.
“All the concerned companies are really angry at the authorities, especially because the situation is so unfair,” said the Sky Net staffer. “The Rangoon market for this service is growing. E-Lite approached the MCPT and convinced it to give E-Lite a monopoly on the service.”
“We can do nothing about it,” he said. “We have to do what we are told. We don't know if we will get compensation. The government has not made any comment.”
According to sources, the MCPT requested the affected companies to detail their expenditures to date after notifying them that their operations would have to be suspended. But, no compensation has been paid yet, they said.
A source said that although ITCS is registered as a private company, incumbent government officers and USDP members play significant roles in its boardroom, just as they do at Yatanarpon Teleport.
Moreover, he said, the ITCS sells mobile phones and prepaid cards in a joint venture with Myanmar Post and Telecommunications.
Elite Company is a subsidiary of Htoo Trading Co. Ltd, which also belongs to Tay Za. In collaboration with Myanmar Post and Telecommunications, it already has stakes in several related sectors, including: providing a nationwide Internet service via fiber optic cables; manufacturing IT-related materials; importing and distributing mobile phones; setting up CMDA phone lines; and the sale of prepaid phone cards.
Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20886
Monday, March 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Burmese Attempt Own 'Facebook Revolution'
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| The “Just Do It Against Military Dictatorship” Facebook homepage on March 2, 2011. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) |
In an attempt to emulate the democratic revolution in Egypt that was sparked by a Facebook campaign, a group of Burmese activists operating inside the country have set up a Facebook page dubbed “Just Do It Against Military Dictatorship.”
The social networking campaign denounces the country's military dictatorship, calls for Burmese military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his family to leave the country and urges the army to join with the people.
The campaign began on Feb. 13—just two days after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned from office under pressure from protesters.
The Facebook page, now known simply as “JD,” has prompted the distribution of anti-government material in a number of places across Burma and raised security levels in Rangoon.
“We are not daydreaming,” said an activist in Rangoon who said he was a JD supporter. “No dictator can resist a popular movement, we know.”
The campaign has now received the support of over 1,000 activists in Burma, according to one of the organizers who declined to be named due to personal safety concerns.
The organizer told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that JD supporters have distributed anti-government pamphlets in Mandalay, Burma's second largest city, and in Taunggyi Township in Shan State.
He said that a poster dropped at the main railway station in Mandalay reads: “Get Out! Than Shwe.”
On Wednesday, JD supporters distributing pamphlets in Zay Cho market—the largest in Mandalay—had to flee when police arrived.
In addition, a professor from Taunggyi University reportedly informed the authorities about the distribution of anti-government pamphlets in Shan State, but no one was arrested.
Facebook is the second most popular site after Gmail among the estimated 400,000 Internet users inside Burma. Twitter, the micro-blogging website, is banned in the country.
Due to the limited access to the Internet for many people inside Burma, it remains uncertain how much further the Facebook campaign can go. But the Burmese authorities, notorious for brutal repression against any form of dissent, have apparently heightened security in Rangoon.
Rangoon residents said they saw anti-riot police trucks driving around the city center on Wednesday morning, although this is not unusual and there is no confirmed link between the security measures and the Facebook campaign.
The Burmese state-run media made no mention of the protests in North Africa and private journals were restricted in reporting the news.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said that the Burmese people were closely following the protests in Libya. In comparing Libya and Burma, Suu Kyi told the Voice of America that past protests in Burma faced brutal crackdowns from the army, whereas some army units in Libya split and joined with protesters.
“In Burma, I don’t think there was any noticeable divisions with regards to the policies of the military,” Suu Kyi said.
Source : http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20859