Mytel is a major telecommunications company in Myanmar (Burma), as one of four national carriers. Mytel is operated as a joint venture between the Burmese military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence.^[1] Mytel has been criticized and scrutinized for serving as a major source of revenue for the Burmese military.^[2]

Mytel was granted a telecommunications license on 12 January 2017.^[3] 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.^[3] Mytel uses telecoms infrastructure owned by MECtel, a separate operator controlled by MEC.^[3] 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.^[3]

In March 2020, Distributed Denial of Secrets published 156 gigabytes of data hacked from the Myanmar Investment Commission.^[4] The leak also revealed how millions of dollars allegedly flowed from Mytel subscribers to Myanmar military generals,^[5] and exposed business dealings of family members of prominent military leaders.^[6]

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.^[1] 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.^[7] Mytel was granted an exemption from floor pricing rules and was allowed to discount its rates after its launch, unlike other competitors.^[1] Through its aggressive price-cutting strategy, Mytel was able to capture a market share of 4% (2.4 million subscribers) only two months after its launch.^[8] By contrast, Mytel's competitors agreed to abide by the nominal rules of the free market.^[8]

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.^[9][10][11]

In 2018, reports emerged that Mytel had run fiber-optic cables through privately owned plantations in Kayin State's Payathonzu without providing prior notice.^[9] Mytel has upgraded the Myanmar military's infrastructure, including the army's network of fibre-optic cables.^[12]

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.^[13] In October 2019, Mytel's telecoms cells installed at Shwedagon Pagoda were removed, following a dispute over unpaid rent.^[14]

In February 2020, Mytel was linked to a $1.2 million disinformation campaign on social media.^[15][16] 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.^[17]

In December 2020, Justice for Myanmar released a major investigation detailing a “web of cronyism and corruption” surrounding Mytel.^[18][19] The report also noted the Burmese military's ability to harvest personal data from Mytel users for mass surveillance purposes.^[20] The report prompted additional scrutiny into $60 million in loans provided by British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered to Viettel in connection with Mytel.^[12]

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.^[21][22] 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.^[21] In the first 6 months of 2021, Mytel's sales workforce also decreased by 30%, due to mass resignations.^[21] As of November, over 80 Mytel-owned cellular towers had been sabotaged.^[22] On 4 November, Mytel's chief financial officer Thein Aung was assassinated by three men on bicycles at his home in Mayangon Township, Yangon.^[23] Thein Aung was a former naval officer, and also held executive positions at the military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation.^[24]

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