Sojitz Corporation, NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), NEC Corporation and NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation (NESIC) jointly announced today a plan to upgrade communications infrastructure connecting the major cities of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Myanmar, under an official order from Myanma Posts and Telecommunications, the country’s largest telecommunications operator.

The Communication Network Improvement Project, valued at about 7 billion yen (about 62 million USD), will be the first ODA loan project in Myanmar’s communications field carried out under the auspices of the Japanese government. The four participating companies plan to construct international internet connection facilities and communications infrastructure connecting the three cities and the Thilawa SEZ by 2021. Compared to the present, communications capacity will be more than tripled and significantly upgraded. The project also will support 5G services expected to be introduced in the near future.

Due to rapid economic growth in Myanmar, the penetration rate of mobile phones, only about 10% in 2014, now exceeds 90%, but insufficiencies in communication capacity and IP addresses have made the strengthening of communication infrastructure an urgently required task. 

NTT Com and NEC have developed communication infrastructure now in use in Myanmar, such as LTE base stations, international internet connection facilities and a core communication network connecting Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay. Also, Sojitz has long been engaged in infrastructure and energy projects in the country, having opened an office in Yangon in 1918.

Roles of each company

Sojitz: As the principal contractor of the project, Sojitz will provide overall management, leveraging know-how it has acquired in infrastructure development projects worldwide.

NTT Com: NTT Com, Japan’s largest internet connection service provider, will apply its technological capabilities and expertise in upgrading international internet connection facilities to a maximum capacity of 800 Gbps. In addition, it will resolve the lack of IP addresses by introducing IPv6 technologies. 

NEC: NEC will provide cutting-edge optical communication equipment for core communication networks to expand transmission capacity to 1 Tbps, more than three times the current level. Its optical communication equipment will multiplex multiple signals of different wavelengths and transmit them via optical fiber.

NESIC: NESIC, working in collaboration of its subsidiary NESIC (Thailand) Ltd., will install DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) equipment supplied by NEC and carry out design, civil work and installation works of outside plant (optical cable network) total cable length 180km in Yangon and Thilawa SEZ. The company will also supply and install power supply equipment and air-conditioning equipment.

Under the project, the four companies look forward to contributing to Myanmar’s standard of living and sustainable industrial development through highly reliable and robust communications.