Law experts express doubts over Myanmar telecom bill
Published on Tuesday, 02 July 2013 21:17
Those who are buying SIM cards worth of K 1500 are looking at draw lists in Yangon. (Photo-EMG)
Local law experts say Myanmar's proposed Telecommunications Bill includes several Sections which may result in unfair competition, price regulation and violate individual rights.
On June 27 Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo became the first foreign companies to be granted mobile operating licenses in Myanmar. The competitive bidding process was seen a hazardous by some as the Myanmar still lacks a comprehensive legal framework for local and foreign telecom companies.
The bill submitted to Parliament for approval in last November raises concerns over how the newly licensed foreign companies will be free or not to compete in a market dominated by two local rivals; the state-owned MPT and Yadanapon Teleport.
"There are several provisions in the bill that can empower the ministry to manipulate the companies," said advocate Ko Ni.
The Sections 15 and 16 of the proposed bill says the license holders must abide by the rules, regulations, orders and directives issued by the Ministry of Information and its related departments. And the Section 32 stipulates that license holders must provide services in conformity with the price rates approved by the department.
According to Section 38 said the license holders are not allowed to share market, buy telecommunication appliances from unapproved suppliers or go against a certain opponent in an improper way. Moreover, according to Section 40, the government can discontinue the license holder if they refuse to comply to these measures.
"The distinguished fact stated in the bill is that operators have to agree the price assigned by the ministry. I thought it is a different case from the point of security affairs. It may make problems in competitive market if the ministry is interfering with such cases," the lawyer added.
The Section 56 of the proposed bill says the department can inspect and supervise telecom providers in accordance to guidance from the Ministry. This allows for the unwarranted supervision of the licensed telecommunication services, the network support equipment and related businesses.
Section 73 and 74 states that the government can intercept any data transmission or any communication which may compromise national security, law and order. The government can inspect, supervise or demand certified documents from a licensed company for the sake of national defence and security or in the public interest.
"I'm worried about both sides. I'm worried that the government might act unrealistically while the [telecoms] companies might also do the same. It is important for the government staffs to act fairly and honestly," said Than Maung, high court lawyer.
Although the telecommunication bill may still be amended, critics say the bill is oppressive as it violates basic freedoms of expression and privacy of individuals. Section 76 stipulates that a licensed company must prepare in advance to coordinate with authorities to arrest any person who has violated this law.
"Since the bill came out, we have discussed about the sections that violate freedom of expression. The bill should only have restrictions on the concerned companies, not on the users. We have also discussed about removing jail sentences in the bill. We don't know if these sections will be removed or not when it has been amended," said Nay Phone Latt, a famous Myanmar blogger.
Of more concern to the new foreign companies is if the bill provides an unfair advantage to the two state-owned licence holders and to companies owned by government "cronies". Ei Maung, project manager of Fairway Web, said that protecting the interests of the two government-owned operators depends on whether the Parliament can stand on its own.
"If the legislative [pillar] can handle this Law issue properly, there won't be a problem. If the executive and the legislative are working in opposite directions, it would seem like the legislative is trying to protect the local operators," said Ei Maung.
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