Telenor this week launched commercial 4G services in Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw, amid strong data uptake in the country's fast-growing mobile market.

"Myanmar is experiencing an extensive growth of mobile subscriptions and we are also witnessing higher demand for mobile data. Over 60% of our customers today are data users," said Telenor Myanmar's outgoing chief executive Petter Furberg, in a statement on Thursday. Telenor plans to extend 4G coverage to other cities gradually, he said.

In late June, local press reported that Telenor had been testing 4G not only in Nay Pyi Taw, but also in Yangon, Mandalay, Myawady, and Muse. However, "to provide high speed 4G services all over the country Telenor will need more spectrum," Furberg said.

Myanmar plans to allocate frequencies in the 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands for mobile services. The 2.6-GHz auction was due to begin in the second quarter, but it was delayed and it is unclear exactly when it might take place.

"Telenor is looking forward to participating in the spectrum auctions planned by the union government later this year. Due to explosive growth of data and increasing data demand by the Myanmar people we believe it is urgently required to expand our services to 4G all over Myanmar." However, it will be up to Telenor Myanmar's new CEO to steer the company through the auctions.

Earlier this week, the telco announced that CFO Lars Erik Tellmann will step up to the top job next month. Tellmann has served as CFO in Myanmar since July 2013, over a year before the company brought its mobile services to market in the country. Meanwhile Furberg is moving to a new role at Telenor Digital Businesses in Asia, where he will support business development within the company's Online Classifieds and Market Places, and consumer services operations.

Telenor Myanmar's 4G launch follows in the footsteps of local rival Ooredoo, which began offering 4G services in select locations in May.

Totaltele.com