Myanmar's New Telecommunications Law

On October 8, President Thein Sein of the Union of Myanmar signed into effect the Telecommunications Law ("Telecom Law").¹ As part of Myanmar's continuing effort to open up the country to the rest of the world and, in particular, foreign investment,² the Telecom Law was clearly drafted with foreign investors in mind. This is unsurprising given the relatively undeveloped current state of Myanmar's telecommunications industry, where less than nine percent of Myanmar's population of 60 million owns a mobile phone,³ as well as the need to attract foreign technology and know-how to develop this vital and burgeoning sector. Indeed, an express objective of the Telecom Law is to support the modernization and development of Myanmar by means of telecommunications technology.⁴