Telecom operators provide free public Wi-Fi hotspots in Sittwe

By Admin 04 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
4 July 2023, Sittwe

All four telecom operators in Myanmar — MPT, Ooredoo, Mytel and Atom — are installing free Wi-Fi spots for public use in Arakan State. 

Wi-Fi hotspots are being set up in hospitals, universities and schools to provide free internet access for the public, director-general U Myo Swe of the communications department was quoted as saying by junta-controlled state broadcaster MRTV.

The Wi-Fi access will be provided for free for three years.

“Operators have provided free Wi-Fi access in hospitals, universities and schools in Arakan State as a way of showing their gratitude to subscribers,” U Myo Swe told MRTV.

MPT will install 50 Mbps fibre internet at Sittwe’s University of Computer Studies. Ooredoo will provide 20 Mbps microwave for Sittwe Technological University and traditional medicine hospital.

Mytel will provide fibre internet in Sittwe Hospital, Sittwe University, Buddha University and Mrauk-U Dharma Center. Atom will also provide internet at the nursing training school and government technical high school in Sittwe.

Sittwe Hospital has access to free internet now, said medical superintendent Dr. Kyi Lwin. 

“It is easier to do administrative work now. Previously, internet bills were paid from the health department’s budget, and we had to be careful with internet usage,” said Dr. Kyi Lwin.

Free internet will also facilitate online learning for students, said information officer Ko Oo Than Naing of the Arakan State Students Union.

“It is very important for university students to have access to the internet. The curriculum of the University of Computer Studies is based on the Oxford curriculum. As instructors could not cover every detail, we could learn from online courses, websites and YouTube about the things that instructors do not teach to us,” he said. 

A total of 900 of 904 communications base stations damaged by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State have been repaired so far, and are in operation, said the communications department. 

There are 1,233 communications base stations operated by the four telecommunications providers in Arakan State, and 1,229 of them have restored operations, the department added.