Aye Mya Mya Kyi, the firm’s CEO, said in a recent interview the service would commence at the end of the first quarter.
“It is an exciting time for us – to be able to be the first data-only operator in Myanmar using the 2600MHz high frequency spectrum, and to generate a liberating digital experience,” she said.
She said top-notch 4G+ broadband and fibre-to-the-subscriber (FTTx) would be launched in the near future, with the early phase of the kick-off set in Yangon. It will also provide compelling Internet packages for families at competitive rates.
Aye Mya Mya Kyi seems confident about the launch thanks to what she sees as the company’s customer-centric and solution-driven approach.
“Introducing new products and services is carefully planned and orchestrated,” she said.
“We try to ensure there is little room for error. We have spent months learning what our future customers truly desire and how we can best serve them.
“Competition is no threat to us, but an incentive for excellent and constant progress,” she said.
According to the top executive, customers can expect a robust network infrastructure, which translates into consistently reliable and high-quality connection wherever they are. Data will be delivered at much faster rates, in much higher volumes and to almost any device. She expects the company’s new data service under the Ananda brand will be a platform to lead customers to a digital lifestyle – from watching news to enjoying high-quality movies or playing the latest online games.
In October 2016, the Ministry of Transport and Communication conducted an auction process whereby the firm was awarded a spectrum licence for five of Myanmar’s States (Rakhine, Chin, Shan, Kachin and Kayah) and 4 regions (Yangon, Ayeyarwaddy, Mandalay, Sagaing).
She said initial network development and launch efforts would focus on Yangon and Mandalay. Further and on-going rollout efforts will thereafter be very much driven by the customer demand, working together with tower and fibre-optic companies, retailers and technology providers.
From an early stage, Amara has consulted a number of potential finance providers and industry experts to seek input into the service. Stressing the need for innovation, it aims to ignite and advance Myanmar’s new digital lifestyle at home, at work, at play. “As a capital-intensive business, we are always willing to listen to interesting offers,” said Aye Mya Mya Kyi. Once it brings initial products to the market, the firm will open stores in several locations throughout Yangon to serve as the launch platform. There, potential users could learn about subscriber packages, sign up as customers and obtain relevant devices, such as MiFi and routers, to delve into the new digital world free of nuisance factors such as low download speeds, limited data volumes and poor network reliability.
Meanwhile, Amara has developed a detailed plan to carefully expand its network across the regions. Since acquiring its 4G spectrum licence, the company has undertaken a substantial investment in staffing, know-how and technology, investing more than US$100 million (Bt3.14 billion) to date. Local and international experts in sales and marketing, business operations, and tech teamed up for designing, refining and optimising the firm.
Investment will be driven by forever-evolving technologies that provide its customers with access to information in more innovative and creative ways at competitive prices, she said.
The executive seems proud of Amara’s vision to inspire and enable Myanmar’s digital lifestyle.
“By offering our customers nothing less than a digital transformation, we enable them to participate in the modern workforce, where home and the place of work become blurred, where access to information is key, where we act and transact in an instant, and where we stay in touch with friends and family around the clock,” she said.
The service would create employment opportunities, facilitate access to self-learning, self-development and self-employment, said Aye Mya Mya Kyi. “Everyone talks about how saturated the market already is and ponders whether we will manage to get a share of the pie. That is not at all how we see things developing. Right from the start of the project more than two years ago, we have focused our aims and ambitions, hence our strategy, around the needs of our customers and to how to best serve them.”
The firm has selected Alepo’s BSS solution and managed services to quickly launch innovative LTE and FTTx services to maximise return on the multi-network investment.
