Internet users in Myanmar number nearly 300,000

The number of internet users in Myanmar has reached nearly 300,000, up from merely 12 four years ago, according to a newly disclosed figures of the telecommunications authorities Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, although the telephone wire capacity has been upgraded to 12 megabytes (MB) per second from 2 MB previously, the internet lines are still so congested that arrangements are to be made to upgrade the capacity further to 45 MB in the future.

To improve the country's internet access, the authorities are also extending connections of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ( ADSL) to every township, setting the target to be met by the end of this year.

Myanmar is striving to improve public internet services and 50 public access centers (PAC) have emerged this year in such areas as Yangon, Mandalay, Pyinmana, Pyay, Magway, Muse, Myitkyina, Monywa, Pathein and Taunggyi. It has projected to introduce 400 public internet service centers in 324 townships in the country within three years to facilitate communication links, according to local media.

As the first phase of the project, 100 PAC centers will be opened in the current fiscal year of 2006-07, which is also the first year of the three-year project which began in April, the Myanmar Info-Tech disclosed.

The internet services, which include E-mail and network game, were made available by the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) under the ministry and the Myanmar Info- Tech.

The country introduced e-education system in early 2001 with one ICT park (now known as Info-Tech) in Yangon and another ICT park (now known as Yadanabon Cyber Corporation) in Mandalay having been set up in the two following years to provide ICT services in the country.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has also been launching an ICT development master plan under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), aimed at narrowing the development gap among the regional members. Detailed programs to link international networks are also being carried out in accordance with the master plan drafted by the Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF).

Being a signatory to the e-AFA initiated at 2000 Singapore summit, Myanmar has formed the e-National Task Force to support the IT development.

Moreover, the country has also signed a series of memorandums of understanding since 2003 with companies from Malaysia, Thailand and an ASEAN organization on ICT development.

With the improvement of public internet services, the country sees a step closer towards ICT development, experts said.

Source: Xinhua