Myanmar begins to sell cheap SIM cards to enhance mobile phone coverage

Ooredoo Myanmar, the local unit of Qatar-based telecom operator Ooredoo telecom, on Saturday began to sell low-priced SIM cards in three Myanmar cities amid the government's efforts to enhance mobile phone coverage in Myanmar.
Ross Cormack, CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar, said at a press conference here that free calls and free internet usage are being offered for a trial period of two weeks.
The Ooredoo SIM card will be sold at a price of about 1.5 U.S. dollars. Previously, a SIM card cost about 100 U.S. dollars in the impoverished Southeast Asian country, according to media reports.
The cards will be available in 68 cities and towns by Aug. 15, and will be available in 450 cities and towns with a population of 25 million by the end of the year, according to Cormack.
Mobile phones remained a luxury for ordinary Myanmar people as recently as two years ago due to the high prices of SIM cards. The nationwide mobile phone coverage had reached about 10 percent of the population early this year.
The government is implementing a plan to increase the mobile phone coverage to 50 percent of the population by March 2015, and 80 percent by March 2016, according to official figures.
Myanmar opened its telecom market and gave operator licenses to Ooredoo and Norwegian Telenor group early this year in a bid to solve the financial and technical problems facing the country's telecom sector.