Telenor to introduce low-priced sim cards in Myanmar market September

Telenor Myanmar, the local unit of Norway-based telecom operator Telenor, is planning to sell 10 million low-priced sim cards in three main cities of Myanmar -- Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw -- starting September, local reports said Friday.
Telenor, which will charge 25 kyats (2.5 U.S. cents) per minute for a call, is the second foreign telecom operator in Myanmar after Qatar-based Ooredoo.
To boost development of local mobile market, Telenor Myanmar has signed an agreement recently with South Korea's Samsung.
Moreover, Telenor has already entered partnership with China's Huawei and HTC from China's Taiwan for distributing mobile handsets.
On Aug. 2, Ooredoo launched its sim cards on pilot basis, which will be officially put into function on Aug. 15.
Myanmar's nationwide mobile phone coverage has reached about 10 percent of the population early this year.
The government is reportedly implementing a plan to increase the mobile phone coverage to 50 percent of the population by March 2015 and 80 percent by March 2016.
Myanmar opened its telecom market and granted operator licenses to Ooredoo and Telenor early this year.