TowardsaNetworkedEconomyinMyanmar

Interimtechnicalreport

31March2017

SubmittedtoIDRCby:

12BalcombePlace,Colombo00800,SriLankaTel:+94112671160Fax:+94112675212E-mail:info@lirneasia.net

*LIRNEasiaisaregionalICTpolicyandregulationthinktankactiveacrosstheAsiaPacific.Itisincorporatedasanon-profitcompanyunderSriLankanlaw.

IDRCprojectnumber:107970-001

IDRCProjectTitle:TowardsaNetworkedEconomyinMyanmar

Reportingperiod:1March2015-28February2017

Country:Myanmar

FullNameofResearchInstitution:LIRNEasia

AddressofResearchInstitution:12BalcombePlace,Colombo00800,SriLanka

ContactInformation:info@lirneasia.net(e),0094112671160(v),0094112675212(f)

Research team: Helani Galpaya (Chief Executive Officer, LIRNEasia; project leader) Rohan Samarajiva (Chair,LIRNEasia, ProjectAdvisor);Ayesha Zainudeen (SeniorResearchManager, LIRNEasia); Shazna Zuhyle (ResearchManager, LIRNEasia); Gayani Hurulle (Research Manager, LIRNEasia); Suthaharan Perampalam (SeniorResearcher,LIRNEasia);ChiranthiRajapakse (SeniorResearcher,LIRNEasia);PiyumiGamage (JuniorResearcher,LIRNEasia); Prashanthi Weragoda (Senior Finance Manager, LIRNEasia); Priyadarshini Liyanage (Accountant,LIRNEasia);NilushaKapugama(formerSeniorResearchManager,LIRNEasia);RadhikaWijesekera(formerSeniorResearcher, LIRNEasia); Nay Phone Latt (Former ExecutiveDirector,MIDO;Not involved in project at present);Htaike Htaike Aung (Executive Director, MIDO); Phyu Phyu Thi (Research Director, MIDO); Myo Min Aung(CommunicationsOfficer,MIDO);DipendraManocha(Director,DAISYConsortium);JorgeGarciaHombrados(PhDCandidate, University of Sussex); Nirmita Narasimhan (Policy Director, Centre for Internet & Society); PraneshPrakash(PolicyDirector,CentreforInternet&Society)

Thisreport ispresentedasreceivedfromprojectrecipient(s). Ithasnotbeensubjectedtopeerrevieworotherreviewprocesses.

ThisworkisusedwiththepermissionofLIRNEasia.

Copyright2017,LIRNEasia.

Table of Contents Listoftables...............................................................................................................................................................4

1.Synthesis.................................................................................................................................................................5

2.Researchproblem...................................................................................................................................................7

2.1Demand-sideresearch:Quantitative2.1.12015baselineand2016follow-upsurvey...................................7

2.2Demand-sideresearch:Qualitative2.2.1GenderandICTs.............................................................................8

2.3Webliteracydevelopment...............................................................................................................................9

2.4BroadbandQoSEtesting..................................................................................................................................9

3.Researchfindings..................................................................................................................................................10

3.1Demandsideresearch:Quantitative.............................................................................................................10

3.1.12015baselinesurvey..............................................................................................................................10

3.1.22016follow-upsurvey............................................................................................................................16

3.2Demandsideresearch:Qualitative...............................................................................................................20

3.3BroadbandQoSEtesting................................................................................................................................23

4.Projectimplementationandmanagement..........................................................................................................25

4.1Research.........................................................................................................................................................28

4.1.1Demandsideresearch:Quantitative......................................................................................................28

4.1.2Demandsideresearch:Qualitative.........................................................................................................30

4.1.3Webliteracydevelopment.....................................................................................................................31

4.1.4BroadbandQoSEtesting.........................................................................................................................31

4.2Capacitybuilding............................................................................................................................................32

4.3Policyintervention.........................................................................................................................................33

5.Projectoutputsanddissemination.......................................................................................................................34

5.1Researchoutputs...........................................................................................................................................34

5.2Dissemination.................................................................................................................................................36

5.2.2Meetings.................................................................................................................................................37

5.2.3Participationatconferences,paneldiscussionsandworkshops............................................................38

5.2.4News/mediacoverage............................................................................................................................39

5.3Capacitybuilding............................................................................................................................................42

5.3.2CapacitybuildingforMIDO.....................................................................................................................42

5.3.2Capacitybuildingforpolicymakers.........................................................................................................43

5.4Policyintervention.........................................................................................................................................44

5.4.1Telecommunications...............................................................................................................................44

6.Impact...................................................................................................................................................................47

7.Recommendations................................................................................................................................................49

List of tables Table1:BinarylogisticmodelformobileadoptioninMyanmarin2015................................................................12Table2:Top-threeinformationneedsinMyanmarin2015(%of15-65Population)..............................................15Table3:Degreeofprogresstowardsobjectives......................................................................................................25Table4:Keydifferencesbetweenthetwosurveys..................................................................................................28Table5:Firstlevelofsub-strataforquantativeresearch.........................................................................................29Table6:PlansselectedfromthedifferentoperatorsforQoSEtesting....................................................................32Table7:Researchoutputs........................................................................................................................................34Table8:Meetings-disseminationofBBQoSEtesting..............................................................................................37Table9:Mediacoverage..........................................................................................................................................39Table10:Blogposts..................................................................................................................................................41Table11:ProgresstowardsaworkableTTSengine.................................................................................................46

List of annexes Researchreport:AbaselinesurveyofICTandknowledgeaccessinMyanmar Annex1Researchreport:Mobilephones,internetandgenderinMyanmar Annex2Researchreport:Navigatingthewalledgarden:FreeandsubsidizeddatauseinMyanmar Annex3Researchreport:QualityofServiceExperiencedbyMobileBroadbandusersinMyanmar Annex4Researchpaper:Rationalizationofmobiletelephonybysmall-scaleentrepreneursinMyanmar Annex5Conferencepaper:Information/communicationhabitsandneedsofthelowincomemicroentrepreneursinMyanmarandtheroleformobilephones.

Annex6

Conferencepaper:Regulationunderconstrainedcapacity:LessonsforMyanmar Annex7

Conferencepaper:Factorsaffectingwomen'sabilitytopurchasemobilephonesinMyanmar. Annex8Conferencepaper:UnderstandingGenderVarianceinMobileOwnershipinMyanmar Annex9Conferencepaper:FactorsinfluencinguseofmobiledataservicesamongwomeninMyanmar Annex10Conferencepaper:Policychallengesinembracingmobiletechnologytopromotesocioeconomicdevelopment:ThecaseofMyanmar

Annex11

Slideset:Mobilephones,Internet,informationandknowledge:Myanmar2016 Annex12Slideset:PerformanceofUniversalServiceFunds:India,MalaysiaandPakistan Annex13Researchdesign:AssessmentoftheSocioeconomicEffectsofImprovingtheStrengthofMobilePhoneSignalinMyanmar

Annex14

Methodologynote:2016follow-upsurveyonICTuseandinformationneedsinMyanmar Annex15Visitreport:Myanmardisabledaccessissues Annex16Eventreport:2015baselinesurveyonICTuseandinformationneedsinMyanmardissemination Annex17Eventreport:2016follow-upsurveyonICTuseandinformationneedsinMyanmardissemination Annex18Coursereport:UnionParliament-SocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernance:Egovforparliamentarians.

Annex19

Coursereport:RegionalParliament-SocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernance:Egovforparliamentarians.

Annex20

Policyinput:Telecommunicationsmasterplan Annex21Policyinput:Internationalgatewayfacilityservices Annex22Policyinput:Allocationofspectrumfrequency Annex23Policyinput:Designofaregulatoryagencyandapolicyunitwithintheministry Annex24Follow-upnote:ChristopherPeirce Annex25

Follow-upnote:PatriciaCurran Annex26Follow-upnote:NayLinSoe Annex27Follow-upnote:ThantThawKuang Annex28Follow-upnote:VickyBowman Annex29

1. SynthesisThetelecommunicationssectorinMyanmarwasinanascentstageatthetimeofconceptionofthisproject.Beforeliberalizationtherewereonlytwomobilecellularsubscriptionsper100individualsasrecentlyas20121.Theliberalizationofthemarketin2013hasbeenfollowedbysignificantgrowthinthesectortodate;thisisreflectedinthetelecommunicationsaffordability,accessanduseindicators.Myanmarranked140thoutof175intheITU’sICTdevelopmentindex,fourplacesaheadofLaoPDRandaheadofbothBangladeshandPakistan.ItiswithinstrikingdistanceofIndia.TheobjectiveofthisprojectwastocatalyseMyanmar’smovementtowardsbecominganinclusive,networkedeconomythatwasmakingadvancementsonbothsocialandeconomicfronts.LIRNEasiafocusedontakinganall-frontsapproachinthisendeavour.Itfocusesonaddressing,thefourelementsintheInternetecosysteminasingleproject:infrastructureenablingaffordableconnectivityservices,skilledusers,lowcostanduser-friendlydevices,andattractivecontentandapplications.Theexpectedoutcomeofthiscombined,all-frontsapproachisthatitincreasesInternetsubscriptionsandusersper100toalevelabovethatofitscomparatorcountries.Theprojectconsistsofthreekindsofactivities:research,capacitybuilding,andpolicyadvocacy.

LIRNEasialookstofacilitateevidencebasedpolicymaking.Muchofthecoreevidencerequiredforpolicyinterventionistostemfromquantitativeandqualitativeresearchcarriedoutbytheorganization.ItconductedtwonationallyrepresentativehouseholdandindividualICTusesurveysin2015and2016.Thesurveyconductedin2015underthepreviousproject/researchcycle2wasthefirstnationallyrepresentativeICTusesurveytobecarriedoutinthecountry.Inbothyears,disseminationeventsandmeetingswereheldinYangonandNayPyiTawtosharethefindingswithpolicymakers–includingtherelevantUnionDeputyMinister,privatesector,civilsocietyorganizationsandthemedia.ThetwosurveysarekeypartsoftheimpactassessmentofmobilephonesthatLIRNEasiaisconducting.TheresultsfromthebaselinesurveygaverisetoaseriesofquestionsrelatedtogenderdisparitiesinICTaccess.AjointqualitativestudywiththeConnectedWomenprogrammeoftheGSMAssociation(GSMA,theindustrybodyrepresentingmobileoperatorsworldwide)wasundertaken(withmajorityoffundscomingfromGSMA,whileallresearchwasconductedbyLIRNEasia).TheresultingreportwascompletedintimefortheMobileWorldCongressinFebruary2016,andofficiallylaunchedinYangoninApril2016.QualitativeresearchwasalsoconductedontheuseoffreeandsubsidizeddatapackagesinMyanmar,withco-fundingfromMozillaandtheGoogleFellowshipprogramme.Thefirstroundofbroadbandqualityofserviceexperience(BBQoSE)testingtookplaceinMay2016incollaborationwithM-Lab(MeasurementLab,aconsortiumfoundedbytheNewAmericaFoundation’sOpenTechnologyInstitute).Theresultsweredisseminatedtothethreeoperatorsthroughaseriesofface-to-facemeetingsinJune2016.Thesecondfocusofactioninthisprojectiscapacitybuilding,firstlytargetingMIDO(anamedpartnerinstitutioninthisproject)sothattheyareabletobecomeafinanciallyindependent,evidence-basedresearchandadvocacy

1http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P22IDRCprojectnumber:107077-001:InclusionintheinformationsocietyinAsia

organization,andsecondlythepolicymakers,regulatorsandcivilsocietyinMyanmarwhocaninfluenceICTpolicy.LIRNEasia’sfinanceexpertsspentaweekinYangontoconductfinancialtrainingforMIDO’sfinancedepartmentinApril2016.MIDO’scommunicationsofficerhasworkedextensivelywiththeLIRNEasiatoorganizedisseminationeventsandcourses,andplansareunderwaytoconductfurthertrainingonthisfront.Twocoursestitled‘SocialmediaandICTsforgovernance:E-govforparliamentarians’wereconductedinJuly2016.20membersoftheLowerandUpperhousesoftheUnionParliamentattendedthefirstcourse.ThesecondcoursewascarriedoutovertwodayswithinthepremisesoftheYangonRegionalParliament,recordinganattendanceofover80parliamentariansoneachday.

Workonpolicyadvocacyhascommencedinselectedareas.Duringthisreportingperiod,LIRNEasiaaddressedtheimprovementofICTinfrastructurebysubmittingresponsestopolicydocumentsincludingthedraftTelecommunicationsMasterplanandaconsultationpaperregardingtheallocationofspectrumfrequenciesinearly2016.InavisittoMyanmarinearly2016,theteamfromLIRNEasia,MIDOandCIS(theCenterforInternetandSociety,India,anamedpartnerinstitutioninthisproject)startedworktowardscatalysingICTaccessforthedifferentlyabledpeopleofMyanmar,byconsultingwithmultipleexpertswhoareinterestedinenablingwideraccesstodigitalcontentfortheblind.AtLIRNEasia’sinvitationaleadingexpertinthedevelopmentofsoftwaresolutionsfortheblindflewtoYangonandmetwithkeystakeholders–progressisbeingmadeinidentifyingandresolvingerrorssincehisvisit.Stepsarealsobeingtakentopromotethedevelopmentofcontentaccessiblebytheblind.

2. Research problem Myanmarisatacriticaljunctureintime.Ashiftinthecountry’seconomicpolicieshastakenplacesince2012,orientingthecountrytowardsamoremarketledmechanism.Thetelecommunicationssectorhasundergonesignificantliberalization,withtwointernationaloperatorsbeinggrantedlicensestocompetewiththeincumbent.Theincumbenttoohascontractedoutsideexpertiseandisinvestingasignificantamountoffundstowardsimprovingtheirservices.Whiletheliberalizationofthemarketisasteptowardstherightdirection,itisessentialthatregulatorybestpracticesareencouragedtofacilitatewelfaregainstoall.However,onesizefitsallpoliciesmaynotbethepanaceainfindingoptimalsolutions.

LIRNEasia,whichhasworkedextensivelyintheICTpolicysectorindevelopingAsia,waswellpositionedtolayoutthedangersofincoherentpolicymaking.ItsclosetieswithMIDOfurtherreinforcethisposition.Assuch,thisprojectwasconceivedwiththeultimateobjectiveofplayingaroleinincreasingtheInternetsubscriptionsandusersper100toabovetheaverageofcomparatorcountries.Towardthisend,research,capacitybuildingandpolicyinterventionactivitiesareincludedinthisproject.

OneofthekeyresearchobjectivesoftheprojectwastogainagoodunderstandingofhowindividualsinMyanmar,particularlyonesatthebottomofthepyramid(BOP)useICTs,andhowthatuseisevolvingasthemarketdevelops.LIRNEasiaconductedanationallyrepresentativebaselinesurveyofICTusesandneedsin2015.3Thebaselinesurveyformsthebaseofmuchofthedemandsideresearch(quantitativeandqualitative)thatisbeingconductedthroughthecurrentgrant.

2.1 Demand-side research: Quantitative 2.1.1 2015 baseline and 2016 follow-up survey Whileinitialtop-lineanalysisofthenationallyrepresentativebaselinedatawasconductedinMarch-April2015,thecurrentgranthasenabledcontinuedanalysisofthedata,specificallytomeasuresocio-economicimpactsoftheexpansionofmobilecoverageinMyanmar.Theimpactanalysiswasconceivedduringthepreviousgrant,whichledtoabaselinesurveybeingconducted.Therationalebehindthiswastotakeadvantageoftheuniqueopportunitytowitnessmobileconnectivitysurgingfromclosetozerosoonafterliberalizationofthesector.Thereismuchpotentialformobilephonestoplayaroleinsocio-economicdevelopment,beitthroughaccesstospecificservicessuchasmobilemoneyorsimplythroughtheaccesstoinformationaffordedbythemobilephone.Theoriginalideawastomeasuresocioeconomicoutcomesatbaseline(whenconnectivitywasexpectedtobenon-existentinalargeenoughnumberofwardsandvillages)andtheninafollow-upsurveymeasurethesameoutcomesafterthosewardsandvillageshadreceivedconnectivity,ayearlater.However,itwasfoundthattheproportionofwardsandvillagesthatwerealreadyconnectedjustpriortobaselinefieldworkwastoohighforthisapproachtowork.Thereforedataonthequalityofthemobilesignalwascollectedalongwithhouseholdandwardandvillage-leveldata,inordertoenableotherdesignapproachestobeexplored.Therefore,otherapproachesarebeingexplored,andbasedonthedatacollectedatbaselineandinstrumentalvariableapproachseemsmostfeasibleatthispoint.3FacilitatedthroughIDRCprojectnumber107077-001

Throughthecurrentgrant,afollow-upsurveyofICTneedsanduseswasconductedinJune-August2016usingsimilarmethodstothebaseline.Theideabehindthiswastocapturethegrowthinmobileaccessandownership,seehowmobileusehasevolved,exploretheuptakeofdataservices(includingzero-ratedcontent),ifandhowinformationneedsandsourceshavechanged,amongotherquestions.Thesurveyalsointroducedafewquestionsaimedatassessingdigitalliteracyinthepopulation.WhiletheinitialobjectivewastocovertheBOPonly,thedecisiontoconductanationally(i.e.,allsocioeconomicgroups)representativebaselinesurveyhassimilarlybeenappliedforthefollow-upsurvey.

2.1.2 Impact evaluationThecontinuedanalysisofthebaselinesurveydataisdirectedtowardsasocioeconomicimpactassessmentofmobilephonesinMyanmar.Whiletheimpactshavenotyetbeenmeasured/calculated,theanalysisconductedsofar,ledbyJorgeGarciaHombrados4,hasbeentodeterminethemostappropriateempiricalstrategytoassessandunderstandthesocioeconomiceffectsofimprovingthestrengthofthemobilephonesignalinMyanmar.

2.2 Demand-side research: Qualitative 2.2.1 Gender and ICTs ByMarch2015,justoverayearfromliberalization,39%ofMyanmar’spopulationbetweentheagesof15-65ownedamobilephone,accordingtothebaselinesurveyconductedbyLIRNEasiain2015.Thesurveyshowedhowever,thatwomeninMyanmarwere29%lesslikelytoownamobilephonethanmen.

TheinitialanalysisofthefindingsfromLIRNEasia’sbaselinesurveyonmobileusewerepresentedbyLIRNEasiaCEOHelaniGalpayaattheGSMAMobileWorldCongressinMarch2015inBarcelona,Spain.Afterseeingthegender-disaggregatedaccessnumbersofthesurveyfindings,LIRNEasiawasapproachedbytheConnectedWomenprogrammeofGSMAtoconductajointqualitativestudytoanalyzethereasonsfordifferencesinmobileownershipbetweenmenandwomen.GSMAConnectedWomenprovidedfundstohireavendorforthefieldworkandthedesignandprintingofthefinalreport(approximatelyUSD40,000),whileLIRNEasiacoveredthecostoffieldtravelforitsresearchersaswellasitsresearchertime(approximatelyUSD5,000)towardthecost.Whatresultedwasaco-brandedresearchreportentitledMobilephones,InternetandgenderinMyanmar,whichisbeinglaunchedinBarcelonainFebruary2016andinMyanmarinApril2016.Thefollowingresearchquestionswereexploredthroughthejoint-study,whichwascarriedoutinJuly2015:

o WhyisthereamobileownershipgendergapinMyanmar?o WhydomanymobileownersinMyanmarnotusemobileInternet?

§ Aretheredifferentreasonsformenversuswomen?o Whataretheopportunitiestoencouragemorewomentoownandusemobilephones(especially

mobileInternet)inMyanmar?2.2.2 Free and subsidized data useLIRNEasia’s2016follow-upsurveyshowedthatdespite78%ofmobileownershavingInternetreadysmartphones,only49%reportedusingmobiledataservices.InacountrywherethemeanmonthlyincomeislessthanMMK300,000(USD250),affordabilityremainsanissue.

4UniversityofSussex

Zero-ratedpromotionsallowsubscriberstousedataforfree,i.e.,withoutcountingtowardstheirpurchaseddataplanortop-upbalance.SuchdataisoftenlimitedinscopetoafewappsorInternetservices.Zero-ratedpromotionsintroducepeopletoInternetservices,andmaytherebystimulatedemandformobileInternetaccess.

Theuseoffreeandsubsidizeddata(zero-ratedcontent)inMyanmarwasthusexplored.MobileoperatorsinMyanmarofferedanumberoftheseservicesincludingFacebookfreebasics..Thisresearchwasco-fundedbyMozilla(approx.USD10,000),asapartofitsresearchinAsia,AfricaandLatinAmericaonInternetuseinthepresenceofsubsidizeddata.FundswerealsoreceivedfromtheGooglePolicyFellowshipProgramme.LIRNEasiacoveredthepersonnelandtravelcostsofitsresearchers.Thequestionsexploredthroughthisresearchare:

• HowdopeopleuseFacebookfreebasicsandotherzeroratedcontent?• DousersconnecttotheInternetbeyondzero-ratedservicesorstaywithinthese‘walledgardens’?• Howdouserschangedataconsumptionhabitsafterusingzero-ratedofferings?• Douserscontinuetousezero-ratedofferingsovertime?

2.3 Web literacy development LIRNEasiaaimstoinvestigatescalablemodelsofpromotingmobileandwebliteracyinordertofacilitatetheuseofICTs.Telecentreswereproposedtobesetupbythemobileoperatorswasidentifiedasameansofpromotingmobileandwebliteracy.ThemodelsthathavebeenusedbytheseTelecentrestopromotedigitalliteracy,andthedemandforthecontentistobeanalysedtotheextentpossible.

2.4 Broadband QoSE testing LIRNEasiahasbeentestingBroadbandQualityofService(QoS)asexperiencedbytheendusersince2008.Previousstudiesconfirmthatadvertisedspeedsareafarcryawayfromwhatisactuallyreceivedbytheuser.WehavealsoobservedservicedegradationwhenconnectingtoInternationalservers.Amisconceptioninbroadbandqualitymeasuresisthatdownloadspeedistheonlymetricthatreallymatters.Itisperhaps,whatismosteasilyunderstoodbyconsumers,however,thereareotheraspectsthatarevitalforauser’s‘online’experience.ThisresearchcomponentaimedtomeasuremultiplemetricsthataffectthequalityofbroadbandservicesreceivedbytheuseracrossallstatesinMyanmar.AsInternetaccessviathemobilephoneisprevalentinMyanmar,itfocusesonmobilebroadbandofthethreemainmobilenetworkoperators.

3. Research findings 3.1 Demand side research: Quantitative 3.1.1 2015 baseline survey Apartfrombeinganintegralpartoftheimpactevaluation,thedatafromthebaselinesurveyisinterestinginandofitself,andshedsignificantlightonthestatusofICTuseinthecountry,whennoothernationallyrepresentativedataforthecountryonICTuseexisted.Itshighlightsarereportedheresincethepreviousgrantendedbeforetheresultswereanalyzed,withtheanalysisbeingdoneinthisgrant.Furtherdetaileddescriptivestatisticsareavailableintheonlinereportavailableathttp://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LIRNEasia_MyanmarBaselineSurvey_DescriptiveStats_V1.pdf.ItcanalsobereferredtoinAnnex1

ICTaccessBythetimeofsurvey,96%ofwardsand87%ofvillagesinMyanmarreceivedamobilesignal.5Qualityisvariableasnetworksexpandcoverageandcapacity,butjustoneyearafterthetwoprivatelicensesweregranted,mobileshadalreadybecomethemostprevalentICTinMyanmarhouseholds(Figure1)with58%ofhouseholdshavinganactiveSIMand57%havingamobilehandsetpresent,comparedto‘older’ICTslikeTVsandradios.Almost60%ofhouseholdshadatleastonemobilephonepresent,whilealmost30%hadmorethanone.MobileSIMandhandsetownershipwasapproximately45%higherinurban(vs.rural)and43%higherinhigherincome6(vs.lowerincome)households.

Figure1:HouseholdaccesstoICTsandICTconnections2015(%ofMyanmarhouseholds)

5Basedonsurveyresponsesofward/villageadministratorssurveyedineveryward/villageselectedforthebaselinesurvey;ward/villageadministratorswereaskedwhethertheirward/villagereceivedanymobilesignalatthetimeofsurvey.Coveragedataisbasedonresponsestothefollowingquestion:“Doyoureceiveanymobilephonecoverageinyourward/village?”Allwardandvillageadministrators/leadersinthesurveywereaskedthisquestion.6‘High’incomehouseholdswereconsideredasthosethathadatotalmonthlyexpenditureofoverMMK300,000,equivalenttosocio-economicclassification(SEC)groupsA,BandC;similarly,‘low’incomehouseholdswereconsideredthosethathadamonthlyhouseholdexpenditureofMMK300,000orless,equivalenttoSECgroupsD-E.

1%

2%

2%

1%

5%

18%

44%

52%

57%

58%

Tablet computer

Notebook, laptop computer

Internet connection (excluding. via mobile phone)

Desktop computer

Fixed phone

Radio/cassette player

CD/ DVD/ EVD/ Blue Ray disc player

Television

Mobile handset

Active mobile SIM

Source:LIRNEasianationalbaselinesurvey,2015

Respondentsfromhigherincomegroupsweremorefrequentteleusers7,withjust15%havingneverusedaphonebefore,comparedwith38%ofthosefromlowerincomegroups.Eightypercentofthisusewasfromamobilephone.Whenthepurposeofcallingwasconsidered,ownerstendedtohavemorelivelihood-relatedcalls,althoughthiskindofusagewaslowcomparedtosocial-purpose-relatedcalls.

Mobileownershipandfactorsinfluencingmobileadoption

Atanindividuallevel,mobilephoneownership(havinganactiveSIM,withorwithoutahandset8)among15–65yearoldsinMyanmarwas39%.Arelativelylargegendergapof29%wasseen,withwomen’sownershipbeingjust33%comparedto47%amongmen.

Mobilepenetrationwasgreaterinhigherspendinghouseholds(i.e.,thosewithhigherincomeormorewealth)-42%ofthemhadamobilephoneandSIM.Buteveninpoorhouseholdsthenumberwas35%.Thisfigureisremarkable,giventhatin2006,nearly9yearsaftermarketliberalization,only9%oftheIndianpoorhadaphone,23%ofPakistanand22%inSriLanka.9

Theurban-ruralownershipgapwas58%,withurbanmobileownershipat65%(drivenlargelybythethreebigcities:Yangon,MandalayandNayPyiTaw)andruralat27%.However,theselevelswerestillhigherthanthe2006levelsseeninIndia,PakistanandSriLanka(whowereeachseveralyearspost-liberalizationcomparedtoMyanmarat1yearfromliberalization).

Affordabilityandalackofaneedforaphoneweregivenasthemainreasonsfornon-ownership.

Alogisticmodelingofthefactorsdeterminingthe‘odds’ofadoptingwasconducted.The‘Odds’isdirectlyrelatedto(butnotthesameas)theprobabilityofsomethinghappening.10

Abinarylogisticregressionisawayofmodelingtheprobabilityofaneventwhentheeventisabinaryoutcome,somobileadoption=1(yes)or0(no).Thecoefficientofalogisticregression(Column1inTable1)cannotbedirectlyinterpreted,thereforetheOddsRatio(Column2)iscalculatedfromwhichthe,thechangeintheoddsofadoptionassociatedwith11a1-unitincreaseintheexplanatoryvariable(e.g.,gender,education,etc)maybecalculated(giveninColumn3).

Thisanalysisshowsthatthelargestimpactontheodds(andthereforeprobability)ofmobileadoptionisfromthecompletionoftertiaryeducationinMyanmar,althoughtheactualnumberofrespondentswhohavecompletedtertiaryeducationislow.ApersonwhohascompletedtertiaryeducationinMyanmarhas378%higheroddsofmobileadoptionthansomeonewhohasnotcompletedtertiaryeducationbuthasallothermeasuredcharacteristics(e.g.,gender,householdcharacteristics,etc)thesame.Havingcompletedsecondaryeducationisassociatedwithincreasedoddsof55%.Beingafemaleisassociatedwithareducedoddsofadoptionof42%.Agehasnosignificantassociation.Householdcharacteristicsappeartohaveapositiveassociationwithmobileadoption,withhavingaTV,electricityandhouseholdspendingbeingpositivelyassociatedwiththeoddsofadoption.Networkvariablesaresignificantandpositive,witheachadditional10%ofarespondent’sfamilyowningamobileassociatedwithanincreasedoddsofadoptionof36%.Positiveperceptionsofthebenefitsof7Thatishavingusedany)phonebefore.8Althoughresponsesshowthatanegligiblenumber(0.7%)ownanactiveSIMbutnotahandsetoftheirown,weconsidertheseSIM-onlyownersasmobile‘owners’.

9AsseeninLIRNEasia’sTeleuse@BOP2data.10The‘odds’ofandeventhappeningisequaltotheprobabilityoftheeventhappeningdividedbytheprobabilityoftheeventnothappening;inthiscase,Oddsofmobileadoption=probabilityofadoption/probabilityofnotadopting11Thistypeofmodelinganddatacannotbeusedtoascertaincausality,onlyassociation.

phoneuseareassociatedwithhigheroddsofmobileadoption,especiallywithrespecttotheperceivedemotionalbenefits.

Table1:BinarylogisticmodelformobileadoptioninMyanmarin2015

Coefficient(β)

OddsRatio

ChangeinOddsRatiodueto1unitincreaseinvariable

p-value

Gender(0=male;1=female) -0.536 0.585 -42 0.00

Secondaryeducationbeingthehighestobtained(0=no,1=yes)

0.438 1.55 55 0.00

Tertiaryeducationbeingthehighestobtained(0=no,1=yes) 1.564 4.777 378 0.00

Havingtelevisionathome(0=no,1=yes) 0.61 1.84 84 0.00

Havingelectricityathome(0=no,1=yes) 0.342 1.407 41 0.00

Employmentstatus(0=notemployed;1=employed) 0.608 1.836 84 0.00

Perceivedeconomicimpactofmobile(scalarvariable:1-5) 0.067 1.07 7 0.25

Perceivedknowledgeimpactofmobile(scalarvariable:1-5) 0.122 1.13 13 0.04

Perceivedemotionalimpactofmobile(scalarvariable:1-5) 0.235 1.265 27 0.00

Proportionoffamilymembershavingmobile(scalarvariable:1-10)

0.304 1.355 36 0.00

Proportionoffriendshavingmobile(scalarvariable:1-10) 0.047 1.048 5 0.00

Monthlyhouseholdexpenditure(MMK) 0.115 1.122 12 0.01

Ageofrespondent(no.ofyears) -0.005 0.995 -0.5 0.09

Constant -3.439 0.032 -97 0.00

Source:LIRNEasia

SmartphoneandInternetuse

Thedatashowedthat66%ofmobilesubscribersownedasmartphoneand37%ownedafeature(or‘keypad’)phone(3%ownedboth).Assuch,morethantwothirdshadInternet-readyfeaturessuchasabrowser,applicationsandWi-Fifeatures.ThisisapenetrationratehigherthanThailand,Myanmar’smuch-richerneighbor,

reportedtohaveunder50%smartphonepenetration.CountrieslikeIndiaandSriLankaaremuchlower–under20or25%.12

Smartphonepenetrationwashighestinthe15-24agegroup,ashighas84%,andhighestamongthosefromhigherincomehouseholds(75%).OnaveragemobileownershadpaidapproximatelyUSD90fortheirhandsets.

Amongmobileowners,thereisconsiderableuseofmobileInternet,usingvariousappsthatareinstalledonthephone.Thirty-fourpercentofmobileownersusedatleastonedataservice(internetviaabrowserorapps,includingsocialmedia,callingandchatapplications,etc.)ontheirmobilephone.Usagewaslimitedtoafewapps(mostlysocialmediaandcallingapps);overhalfofthesedataserviceusersonlyusedbetweenoneandthreetypesofservices.

Lookingatthedataservicesindividually,thehighestpercentage,or24%ofphone/SIMowners’useiscalling/usingVOIPapplicationsuchasViberandSkype(Figure2).Nexthighest,at20%arethevariouschatapplicationssuchasWhatsappandFacebookmessenger.ThirdistheFacebookapp,with17%ofallphoneownersusingit.Thesearereasonablyhighnumbers,just6monthsafterliberalization.

Interestingly,however,whenasked(inanotherquestionofthesurvey)iftheyhadusedtheInternet“throughabrowseronanydevicesuchasacomputer,tabletormobilephoneinthepast12months”,only2%say“yes”.Evenwithinthis2%,themajorityuseamobilephone,notatabletoracomputer.Giventhatcomputeruseinthe12monthsprecedingthesurveywasatamere2%,thedominanceofmobilephoneevenforbrowser-basedInternet(thetraditionalandperhapsmorecumbersomewaytoaccesstheinternet)isnotsurprising.

12GSMAIntelligence.2015.MobileinternetusagechallengesinAsia—awareness,literacyandlocalcontent.Retrievedfromhttps://gsmaintelligence.com/research/?file=06e82e7d9c569e05a6d54974c33f6b04&download

Figure2:Whatmobileownersusedtheirhandsetsforin2015(%ofmobileowners)

Note:‘app’useexcludesuseofthebrowser-basedversionoftheservice

Source:LIRNEasianationalbaselinesurvey,2015

Perceivedbenefitsofphoneuse

Thegreatestperceivedbenefitofaccesstophoneswasseenintermsofimprovedsocialandfamilyrelationsandrelationships.Mobileownersfeltmorestronglyaboutthebenefitsthannon-owners,especiallythosefromhigherincomehouseholds.

Perceptionsofquality

Whilemobilesubscriberswereonthewholesatisfiedwiththequalityofmobilesignalreceived(63%saidtheyreceived‘satisfactory’quality),41%ofurbanand56%ofruralmobilesubscribersstatedthatcallswerenotsuccessfuluponthefirstattempt.

Informationneeds

Responsestothequestionsoninformationneedsshowedthatthetopratedinformationtypeswerecommunityandnationalnews,weatherinformationandinformationoncostandwheretoobtaindailygoodsandservicesFriendsandfamilywerebyfarthemaininformationsourcesfor73%ofrespondents.

Whenaskedwhatthethreemostimportant,day-to-dayinformationneedsare,communitynews(aboutwhatishappeningatward/villagelevel),nationalnews(importantthingshappeninginMyanmar)localnews(what’s

80%

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56%

52%

33%

24%

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13%

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9%

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2%

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For missed calls

For text messaging (SMS)

Receiving phone calls (via your network provider)

Taking phone calls (via your network provider)

To listen to music

To play games

For calling applications (e.g. calls using Viber,

For using chat/instant messaging applications

For sharing content (pictures/video/music, etc)

To use Facebook application (not through

To download/use any other mobile application

To receive updates, such as breaking news

To watch online video content (streaming)

For using the Internet/web through a browser

For email

For mobile money (sending/receiving talk time)

To access other social-networking or blog

To use Wikipedia application (not through

To access mobile money or banking services

happeningatstate/regionallevel),weatherinformation,informationonwheretogeteverydayhouseholdgoods(atabetterprice),andinformationaboutjobopportunitiesarerankedattheverytop(Table2).Sports,entertainment,horoscopeandother“entertainment”relatedinformationisrankedmuchlower.Thetop6categoriesremainconsistentevenwhenurbanareasandruralareasareconsideredseparately.Butweatherinformationrisestothesecondmostimportantinformationneedinruralareas,reflectingperhapsthedependenceonrainwaterforagriculturerelatedlivelihoods.

DespitehighpenetrationofTV(in50%ofhouseholds)andradio(in18%ofhouseholds),veryfewpeople(under10%)relyonthesesourcestogetinformation.Instead,itisword-of-mouththatworksinMyanmartoday:nearly70%ofrespondentssayfriends/familyarethemainsourceofinformation.AubiquitousandpersonaldevicesuchasthemobilephonemaybeabletoplayasignificantroleinfillingthegapandfulfillinginformationneedsofpeopleofMyanmar.

Moremobilesubscribers(54%)thannon-subscribers(37%)felttheyrequiredmoreinformationthattheyalreadyhaveaccessto;alargenumberwereunsure.

Ownersarehungrierformoreinformation.Whenrespondentsareaskediftheyrequire“moreinformationthantheycurrentlyhave”abouttheirkeyinformationcategories,54%ofownerssay“yes”(i.e.theyneedmoreinformation)compared37%ofnon-ownerusers.Whenaskediftheygetcertaintypesofinformationfastenough,54%ofownerssay“no”comparedto42%ofnon-ownerusers.

Table2:Top-threeinformationneedsinMyanmarin2015(%of15-65Population)

Mostimportant

2ndmostimportant

3rdmostimportant

Communitynews,aboutthingshappeninginyourward/village 20% 11% 10%

Nationalnews,aboutimportantthingshappeninginMyanmar 12% 14% 13%

Weatherinformation 11% 12% 12%

Informationonwheretogeteverydayhouseholdgoodsandservicesandhowmuchtheycost(notbusiness-related)

19% 3% 3%

Informationonjobopportunities 7% 7% 10%

Localnews,aboutimportantthingshappeninginstate/region 6% 11% 5%

Internationalnews,aboutimportantthingshappeninginothercountries

3% 7% 5%

Healthtipsandinformation 3% 4% 8%

Informationonhowtodoormakethings 4% 8% 2%

Priceinformationrelatedtoyourlineofwork 3% 5% 4%

Newskillsandwaysofdoingthingsthatyoucanlearntoenhanceyourearningcapabilities

2% 3% 5%

Source:LIRNEasianationalbaselinesurvey,2015

Futuredemand

Lookingforward,over70%ofnon-subscriberswerehopingtobuyamobileinthefuture,with21%ofnon-subscribersplanningtodosowithinthefollowingyear.Sixtypercentofthesenewbuyerswillberural;57%willbefemale;63%willbefromlower-spending(poorer)households;73%willbeundertheageof44years.

3.1.2 2016 follow-up survey

ICTaccessAccesstoICTdeviceshadincreasedconsiderablybetween2015and2016.Householdownershipofmobilephonesstoodat83%,upfrom57%in2015(Refersection3.1.1).Onaverage,therewere2.3mobilephonesperhousehold;thecorrespondingfigureforSIMcardsperhouseholdwasevenhigherat2.9.Geographically,theincreaseintheproportionofhouseholdswithmobilephonesandSIMshasbeenlargelyinthesmallertownships.Asaresult,householdswithmobilephonesarelessconcentratedinthecities,incomparisonto2015.Asimilar,thoughlessstark,diffusionhasalsobeenobservedinthecaseoftelevisions.

Informationonwheretofindhealthcare(doctors,hospitals,medicationsetc

2% 3% 4%

Otherentertainmentinformation(e.g.,TV,movieupdates,etc) 2% 1% 3%

Currentnewsandupdatesaboutorrelatedtoyoursector 1% 2% 3%

Informationusedinyouroryourchildren’seducation 1% 1% 2%

Informationoneducationopportunitiesforyourselforyourchildren 1% 1% 3%

Othermarketinformation(supplier/customerinformation,marketlocations,etc)

1% 2% 2%

Sportsinformation 1% 1% 2%

Beautytips 1% 1% 1%

Informationonsourcesoffinance(formalandinformalsources,thecostinvolved,etc.)

0% 1% 1%

Crimeinformation 0% 1% 1%

Informationongovernmentprograms,lawsandpolicies. 0% 0% 1%

Informationongovernmentservicesanddocuments 0% 0% 0%

Astrologyinformation 0% 0% 1%

Figure3:HouseholdownershipofICTsandservicesin2016(%ofMyanmarhouseholds)

Teleuseatanindividuallevelwashigh,andhadimprovedconsiderable.Theproportionofindividualswhosaidtheyhadneverusedaphonereducedto9%from31%.Nearlyhalfthepopulation(45%)hadusedaphoneonthedayofthesurveyin2016,upfrom29%in2015.Thisincreaseinthefrequencyofcallingwasobservedinbothurbanandruralareas,andamongstbothmenandwomen.Menhowever,weremorelikelytohaveownedthelastphonetheyused.Women,ontheotherhand,weretwiceaslikelyasmentohaveusedahouseholdorcommonphone.Ninety-fourpercentofthecallsweremadeonamobiledevice.ThosebelongingtohigherSECsweremorefrequentteleusers.NearlyseventypercentofthosebelongingtoSECAhadmadeacallwithintheday-theywerealso3.5timesmorelikelytouseaphonethanthosebelongingtoSECE.OvertenpercentofthosebelongingtoSECE,ontheotherhand,hadnevermadeaphonecall.

Mobileownershipandfactorsinfluencingmobileadoption

Mobileownershiphasincreasedto61%in2016-by21%inurbanareas,butmorethandoubledinruralareas.ThepopulationbelongingtohigherSECsweremorelikelytobemobileowners.MoreindividualsinSECA,BandC1weremorelikelytobemobileownersthannot,whiletheoppositewastrueforthelowerSECsDandE.EqualproportionsofthosebelongingtothelowermiddleincomecategorySECC2weremobileownersandnonowners.

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Tabletcomputer

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Internetconnecuon(excl.viamobilephone)

2015Survey

2016Survey

Figure4:MobileownershipinMyanmarin2016-urbanvsrural(%of15-65population)

Mobileownershipamongwomenhadincreasedwith52%owningmobilephones.Howeverthegendergapremains,withmenbeing28%morelikelytoownamobilephonethanwomen.TheaverageexpenditureonpurchasingamobilephonewasMMK105,198(USD87)andtotalaveragemonthlyspendontop-upswasMMK7,494(USD6)Expenditureontop-upswas50%greaterinurbanareasthanruralareas.

OveraquarterofactiveSIMownersownedmorethanoneSIMcard;athirdofthosebetweentheagesof15-33ownedmorethanoneSIMcard,whilethecorrespondingfigureforoldercohortswaslower.FiftysixpercentofthosewithmorethanoneSIMsaiditwastogetcoveragewherevertheywent.

Thirtyninepercentofthepopulationdidn’townamobilephonein2016.Themainreasonstatedforthelackofownershipwasthattheycouldnotaffordahandset(43%),followedcloselybytheperceptionthattheydidn’tneedone(41%).Theproportionofrespondentswhostatedthattheydidn’tneedaphonehasincreasedsince2015,perhapsinthelinewiththenotionthatthosewhoaspiredtobuyaphoneinthepasthavealreadygotconnected.

SmartphoneandInternetuseComputerusewaslowinMyanmar;only3%ofthepopulation15-65hadeverusedacomputerin2016.Amongthatsmallgroupofcomputerusers,only16%hadaccessedtheInternetwithintheday.Thereby,smartphonesweretheprimarymodeofaccessingtheInternet.Thedatashowedthat78%ofmobileownersusedsmartphonesin2016.Nogendergapwasobservedinsmartphoneownershipamongmobileowners,asinthepreviousyear.Smartphonepenetrationinruralareashasincreased,leadingtoareductionintheurban-ruralgap.Smartphonepenetrationisstillhighestamongtheyoungercohortswith93%ofmobileownersbetween15-24owningsmartphones,butoldercohortsarealsocatchingup.However,only47%of

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Urban Rural

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mobileownersusedmobiledataservices.AccessingFacebookwasacommonuseofthemobilephone,with35%ofmobileownersclaimingtheyuseit;21%accessitdaily.Users,similarly,usetheirphonestoengageinchats/instantmessagingandmakeInternetcalls.Significantgrowthintheuseoftheseserviceshasbeenobservedsince2015.

Figure5:Useofmobilephonein2015(%ofmobilehandsetowners)

Informationneeds

Communitynews,weatherinformationandnationalnewswerethetopthreeinformationneedsinMyanmar,consistentwiththeresultsin2015.Fiftythreepercentofrespondentsstatedthattheywouldgetinformationfromfriendsandfamily.Face-to-faceconversationswerethemostcommonmodeofgettinginformation,

57%

80%

66%

20%

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Networkcalls

Formissedcalls

Textmessages

Chat/instantmessaging

AccessFacebook

Internetcalls(e.g.callsusingViber,Skype,

Share/sendpictures

Playgamesoffline

Searchforinformauon

Downloadpictures,musicandvideo

Listentomusicandwatchvideoonline

Downloadapplicauons

Receiveupdates,suchasbreakingnews

Playgamesonlineordownloadinggames

Email

Accessonlinegovernmentservices

Wikipedia

Mobilemoneyorbankingservices

2015

2016

followedbycallsviamobilephones(15%)andtheInternet(9%).AshiftfromtheuseofmobilephonestotheInternetwasobservedbetween2015and2016.

Perceivedbenefitsandcostsofphoneuse

Theabilitytoactorcontactothersinthecaseofanemergencywasthebiggestperceivedimprovementsincetheuseofthemobilephone.Usersalsosawacomparativelylargeimprovementinsocialandfamilialrelationswiththeuseofmobilephones.Concernsonmobileaccessanduseremained,particularlyregardingthecostsassociatedwithmobilephonesandtheriskofchildrenbeingexposedtoinappropriatecontent.

Digitalskills

Figure6:Digitalskillsin2016(%ofmobilephoneowners)

Digitalskillsamongmobilehandsetownerswerelow.Approximatelyafifthofmobileownerswereabletosearchforinformation,installapplications,createlog-indetails,locateandadjustsettingsonanapplicationorpostinformationonlinebythemselves.Althoughtheabilitytocarryoutthesetasksimprovedwiththehelpofanother.ThefullslidesetcanbeaccessedinAnnex12

3.2 Demand side research: Qualitative 3.2.1 Gender and ICTs LIRNEasia’s2015surveyonICTuseandinformationneedsshowedhowmeninMyanmarwere29%morelikelytoownaphonethanwomen.Qualitativeresearchwascarriedouttounderstandthereasonsforthisgendergap.

Theresearch(jointlyconductedbyLIRNEasiaandGSMAConnectedWomen)showedthatwomeninMyanmarplayaprominentroleinthemanagementofhouseholdfinances,eveniftheydonotearnanythingthemselves.Theirkeyroleistoensurehouseholdincomeisspentprudently,andtheyoftenprioritizetheneedsofother

22 21 18 19 21

1125 21 25

7

0102030405060708090

100

Searchforinformauonorother

contentontheInternet/

online

Installanapplicauon(‘app’)

Createlog-indetails(user)

andapassword

Locateandadjust

sexngsonan

applicauonorservice

Postanyinformauonononline

%

Can,withhelpfromsomeoneelseCan,bymyself

householdmembersovertheirown.Theyareclearlyinvolvedinthefinancialdecisiontopurchaseamobilephoneforthefamily.Yetonceamobilephoneispurchased,thewomanmaynotnecessarilyhaveaccesstothatphoneallthetime.Thisisbecausethephonewill‘travel’withthepersonwhoneedsitthemost–forexampleadaughterwhoworksoutsidethehomeandreturnslateatnight(soaphoneprovidingsecurity),orasonworkinginadifferentcity.Sinceactivitiesoutsidethehomearemoreoftenundertakenbymen,thismobileaccessandusagegapisexacerbated.Assuch,gettingasecondmobilephoneintothehousehold(whichhasahigherlikelihoodofstayinginsidethehousehold)seemskeytoincreasingwomen’saccessandusage.

Thetoptworeasonsamongwomenfornotowningamobilephone(lackofaffordabilityorneed)areconnected.‘Notneeding’amobileisrelativetothecost-benefittrade-offofpurchasinganadditionalphoneforthehousehold.Manywomenwithoutamobilephonesaidthattheydon’t‘need’onebecausetheydonotleavethehouseforworkorstudies.Thoughmanywouldliketohavetheirownmobile,theyfeltthateveniftheydidbuyone,thetop-upswouldbeunaffordablebecausetheyarenotearning(orearningalotlessthanthemalehouseholdmembers).Theclearpreferenceforparticularhigh-endbrandsofsmartphoneswasalsoafactor,sincemanywomenwerewillingtodelaythepurchaseuntiltheycouldaffordaparticularbrand.

Thelowperceivedbenefitsalsoplayarole.Manywomendonotseespendingonmobilesasaprioritycomparedtoothermorepressingneedsofthehousehold,partlyasaresultofhavinglimitedexperienceofmobilephones.Evenamongwomenwhoalreadyuseorownamobile,manydidnotpossesstheskillsorknowledgetoexpandtheircurrentusetopotentiallyvaluabledataservicesandusuallyreliedonothers(primarilymen,eitherrelativesorinphoneshops)forinstruction.OntherareoccasionswherewomenwereusingthemobileInternet,forexampleFacebook,wesawrelatively‘unsophisticated’use.Oftenitwasthelocalretailshopownerwhocreatedtheaccount(includingassigningthepasswordandusername),andpre-subscribedtheaccounttofollowMyanmarcelebritiesorcertaininformationsources.Theuserthensimplyfollowedwhatwasonthenewsfeed.

InMyanmar,closingthemobilegendergapandrealizingtheassociatedsocialandcommercialbenefitswillrequirestakeholderstofocusonthetwomainbarriers:improvingaffordabilityandtechnicalliteracy,particularlyformobileInternet.

Withregardstomobiledataservices,manyfemaleandmalequalitativerespondentsseemedtobestuckinthebasicmobileliteracystage,needinghelpeventomakeacall,especiallyruralrespondents.Whileitwasapparentthatmanymobileownersandnon-ownerswereinterestedtolearnaboutandusetheInternet,mostdidnotknowhowtodoit(evensmartphoneowners).Oneissuewasthatmanyfemaleownerswerenotpresentatthetimeofpurchaseanddidnotgetan‘introduction’tothemobileattheshop(asmentendtodo),sotheyreliedonrelativesandfriendswhoarealreadyowners.Many(includingfemalenon-owners)fearedtheycoulddamagethephonewhenexperimentingwithit.Thisconcernhaslimitedtheirexplorationofphonefunctionalitiesandinternetpossibilities.Languagewasanotherbarrierthatrestrictedtrialandinvestigation.RespondentswhoknewEnglishwerebettereducatedandhadnousagebarriers.ThosewhousedInternet/dataservicesoftenrequirehelptodoso,andwerenotawareofprivacysettings,howtoevaluatetheauthenticityofposts,etc.Thisbeingsaid,SmartphoneownersinYangonhaveabroader/richerunderstandingandinternetusagepatterns.Forthem,theinternetisnotjustaplacetomakefriendsandchat,butalsotosearchforinformation.Manyruralrespondentshadnotheardofmobileappsoradmittedtheydidnotunderstandwhattheywere.

Theresultsaregiveningreaterdetailintheresultingpublication,Zainudeen,A.&Galpaya,H.(2015)Mobilephones,internet&genderinMyanmar.GSMAavailableathttp://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/programme/connected-women/mobile-phones-internet-and-gender-in-myanmar/.ThereportcanalsobefoundinAnnex2

3.2.2 Free and subsidized data useResearchonfreeandsubsidizeddatausewasconductedinovertwoweeksinYangon,MyanmarinJuly2016.Theteamconductedfocusgroupdiscussionswithatotalof63mobilephoneusersaswellasinformalinterviewswithcorporatestakeholdersandstreet-sidevendors.MalesandfemalesfromSECAtoEfromurbanandruralYangonwereselected.All63respondentswereInternetusers,i.e.,usersofmobiledata.Atthetimeofresearch,Myanmarhadarangeofzero-rateddataofferings—themostprominentbeingFacebookFreeBasics(offeredviaMPT,theincumbentoperator),andFreeFacebookandVibertextmessages(offeredbynewentrantTelenor).Alloperatorsofferedanumberofothersubsidizedorpromotionaldatapackages.

TheresearchfoundthatrespondentsdidnotuseorknowofFreeBasicscontentotherthanFacebook.Whilesome40respondentshadusedFreeBasics,onlyfourknewoffreecontentavailableontheplatformbeyondFacebookandMessenger.

Respondentsdescribeddifferentbehavioronthetwomainzero-ratedpromotionsinthisstudy.ManyrespondentsstoppedusingFreeBasicsbecauseofuser-experiencefrustrations:theabsenceofphotosandvideoonthefreeversionofFacebook,slowdataspeedsandtheprocessofswitchingbackandforthbetweenpaidandfreecontent.ThosewhocontinuedtouseFreeBasicsusedit—alongsidepaiddata—forlimitedpurposes.ManyrespondentsusedFreeBasicsprimarilywhentheirtop-upbalancehadrunout,asameanstokeepingincontactwithothersbeforetoppingup.

RespondentswhousedTelenorFreeFacebookandViberincreaseddataconsumptiononthepromotionalpackagesavailable.SeveralruralrespondentsbeganwatchingvideocontentonFacebookforthefirsttimebecauseofthepromotion.Mostusedtheirentire150MBfreequotaeachday,andmanypaidforadditionaldata.Thus,thepromotionservedasan‘on-ramp’topaiddataconsumption,althoughnottothe‘openInternet’:userspaidtocontinueusingFacebook.TelenorFreeuserswerecontenttoremainwithinthe‘walledgarden’.Respondentsalsousedzero-ratedpromotionsasastrategytomanagedata-costs.TheserespondentsusedoneofseveralstrategiesonFreeBasics:usingfreeMessengerexclusively,choosingtoreadpostsonfreeFacebook,orlimitingcertainFacebookactivitytofreemode,inparticularcheckingFacebookgroups.SomeusersofTelenorFreestoppedoncetheyreachthedailycap,whileotherscontinuedusingFacebookbyswitchingtoMPTFreeBasics.

Userperceptionmattered:ifusersunderstoodthattheywereusingfreecontent,i.e.,theyseethe‘gardenwalls’,thentheyunderstandtheyarenotusingthe‘openInternet’.ThelimitationsofFacebookonMPTFreeBasicsservedtohighlightthesegardenwalls:respondentsknewwhentheyareusingzero-ratedcontentandwhentheywerenot.ThesamecannotbesaidforTelenorFree.Severalusers—frombothurbanandruralfocusgroups—describedthefree150MBFacebookallotmentonTelenorasgeneral-usedata.

Perceptionandvisibilityaside,usersdidnotremainwithinthe‘walledgarden’.Mostactivezero-rated-contentusersalsousedotherInternetservices,includingGoogle,newswebsites,andapps.RespondentsdescribefollowinglinksfromwithinFacebooktoexternalwebsites.Exitingthewalledgardenwasmorecommonamongurbanrespondents,butmostruralrespondentswhousedzero-ratedcontentalsouseotherapplicationsonline,commonlyBeeTalkorClashofClans.

Giventhechoicebetweenzero-rating,limiteddatatoaccessunrestrictedcontent,orunlimitedaccesstoopencontentbutatslowspeeds—threewidelyproposedmodelsforspreadingaccess—respondentspreferredunrestrictedcontent.RespondentsexpressedfrustrationatslowWi-Fianddataspeeds.Frustrationswith

limitationsonFreeBasicsandthelaunchofanalternativewithfreefull-contentFacebookledsevenoftheFGDrespondentsinterviewedtoswitchfromMPTtoTelenor.Usersthemselveswerenothappywithaperceivedsecond-classInternet.

Theresultsaregiveningreaterdetailintheresultingpublication,Cihon,P.&Galpaya,H.(2017)Navigatingthewalledgarden:FreeandsubsidizeddatauseinMyanmaravailableathttp://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NavigatingTheWalledGarden_CihonGalpaya_2017.pdfandinAnnex3

3.3 Broadband QoSE testing

Servers used for the diagnosticswerewithin core transit locations in Bangkok and Los Angeles. The NetworkDiagnosticTool(NDT)serversareoutsideofISPnetworks,withindatacentersthathavedirectupstreamtransitconnectivitytotheInternet(Tier1networks).Thisplacementisintendedtocomparetoactualuserexperience,wheremorethanonenetwork ispotentially involved inthedeliveryofcontent.This isdifferent fromisolatingonly one component of the ecosystem as other testing infrastructures sometimes do, such as to the accessprovider’sedge.

Detailed results are available in the report (Annex 4). However, a case in point is the often-misunderstoodmetrics; for instance download speed and latency. Latency, or Round-Trip-Time (RTT), is the time taken for apackettoreachadestinationserverandreturntotheclient. Itoftenaffectsthequalityofcertainservices likeonlinegamingandstreamingmedia,amongothers,andalsocontributestothetimetakenforawebpagetoload.The lower the latency the better the overall performance. However, various factors can affect the downloadspeedeveniflatencyislowandvice-versa.Thiswasevidentinourdiagnostics(FigureX&FigureY)whereareaswithhighdownloadspeedsdidnotnecessarilymeasureupwellintermsoflatency.

The figures below illustrate the better performing states (colour coded in shades of green)where the higherdownloadspeeds (FigureX)and lower latencies (FigureY)wereobserved.Thestatescolourcoded inRedhadlower download speeds (Figure X) and higher latencies (Figure Y)

OPERATOR1 OPERATOR2 OPERATOR 3

Figure7:Averagedownloadspeed(inMbpsfromaserverinLosAngeles)forthethreeoperators

Source:LIRNEasia,2016

OPERATOR1 OPERATOR2 OPERATOR 3

Figure8:Averagelatency(inmstoaserverinLosAngeles)forthethreeoperators

Source:LIRNEasia2016

Weoftenusetheadvertisedspeedasabasetoassesshowmuchofit(asapercentage)isactuallyreceivedattheconsumer’send(FigureZ).Unlikefixednetworks,mobilenetworkshaveahigherdegreeofvolatilitywiththeloadonbasestationsconstantlyincreasinganddecreasing.However,otherissuesofthelackofnetwork

optimizationbytheoperatorforinstancethatresultsinconsistentlypoorqualityinsomelocationscanbeaddressedifthesediagnosticsarecarriedoutperiodically.

Figure9:Actualdownloadspeedasapercentageoftheadvertised"upto2Mbps"

4. Project implementation and management Theprojecthasresearch,capacitybuildingandpolicyinterventioncomponents.

Thedegreeofprogresstowardseachobjectiveislistedinthetablebelow;detaileddescriptionsifnecessary,aregiveninthesub-sectionswhichfollow.

Changestoplannedactivitiesandchangesinunderstanding

Table3:Degreeofprogresstowardsobjectives

Objective Activities

Completed

Anticipated/ongoingactivities

Research

AchieveagoodunderstandingofhowMyanmarICTusers,especiallymenandwomenatthebottomofthepyramid,useICTsandcommunicatethisknowledgeeffectivelytorelevantstakeholdersandtothosewhodevelopappsandcontent

1.Analysisofdata&disseminationofresultsfromthebaselinesurveyonmobilephones,internet,informationandknowledgeinMyanmar

2.Questionnairedesign,

1.Reportonendlinesurveyonmobilephones,internet,informationandknowledgeinMyanmar(ongoing)

2.Secondroundof

0.00

50.00

100.00

150.00

200.00

8:00 11:00 15:00 18:00 20:00 23:00

Ayeyarwaddy Bago Kachin

Kayin Kayah Magway

Mandalay Mon Naypitaw

Rakhine Sagaine Shan(Northern)

Shan(Southern) Tanintharyi Yangon

adver[sed

fieldwork,dataanalysisanddisseminationofresultsformtheendlinesurveyonmobilephones,internet,informationandknowledgeinMyanmar3.Designofdiscussionguides,fieldwork,dataanalysis,preparationofreportanddisseminationofresultsofGSMA-LIRNEasiaqualitativegenderstudy

4.Testing,preparationofreportanddisseminationofresultsofthefirstroundofBroadbandQualityofServiceExperience(QoSE)testing

5.Designofdiscussionguides,fieldwork,dataanalysis,reportwritingonqualitativeresearchonfreeandsubsidizeddatauseinMyanmar

6.Co-authorshipofpaperbasedon2014Myanmarmicroenterpriseresearch(submittedforacademicpublication)withNTU(Singapore)researchers,includingRichLing.

broadbandQoSEtestingusingacrowdsourcedmethod

3.Qualitativeresearchononlineharassment,securityandprivacy

Identifyscalablemodelsofwebliteracydevelopmentandimplementinatleast100tele-centersorequivalentlocations

1.PilotresearchondigitalliteracyinMyanmar.

1.EvaluationofdemandforcoursesinTelenor/MIDO’slighthouseproject(waitingforconfirmation)

Capacitybuilding

EstablishMIDOasacredible,independententitymakingevidence-basedinterventionsinMyanmarICTpolicyandregulationprocessesandplayingacatalyticroleinbuildinganinclusiveinformationsocietybymobilizingcivilsocietyandtheprivatesector

1.Strategicplanningmeeting2.PreliminaryfinancialtrainingforMIDO’sfinancedepartmentandseniorstaff

1.FollowupfinancialtrainingforMIDO’sfinancedepartment2.Trainingoneventorganizationandcommunications(ongoing)

Buildcapacityofpolicymakers,regulatorsandprivate-sectorandcivil-societystakeholdersinconsultativepolicymakingandregulationandalsoinbroadbandqualityofserviceexperiencemonitoring

SocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernance:Egovforparliamentarians.Conductedfor1.20membersofUnionparliament2.87membersofYangonregionalparliament

1.DataforpolicycourseformembersofYangonregionalparliament2.WorkshoponICTindicatorsforofficialsatMinistryofTransportandCommunications(tent)

Policyintervention

ProvidetimelyandcomprehensiveresponsesandadviceonICTreformsand,toalimitedextent,onelectricityreforms

1.Responsetotelecommunicationsmasterplan

2.Responsetoaconsultationpaperonallocationofspectrum

3.ResponsetoGuidelinesonProvisionofInternationalGatewayFacilityServices

4.Recommendationsonthedesignofaregulatoryagencyandapolicyunitwithintheministry

Noplannedactivitiessincepolicywindowsopenupwithoutpriornoticeandresourcesaremobilizedwhentheopportunityarises.

CatalyzetherateatwhichmembersofthedisabledcommunitygainaccesstoICTs

1.Meetingswithtelecomoperators,leadersofthedisabledcommunitydigitalcontentprovidersanddiscusstheactionsthatcanbetakentoenablemoreICTaccessandcontentaccess(usingICTs)to

1.ResolvingproblemsinthetexttospeechengineinMyanmarlanguage(ongoing)

2.ConductinganauditofGovernment/Ministry

visuallyimpairedpersonsinMyanmar.2.Meetingswithmultiplestakeholders(blindschools,nationalassociation,developers)toidentifyproblemspertainedtoMyanmartexttospeechengine.

websitestocheckforWCAG2.0compliance

General

Facilitatethecreationofamultidisciplinaryadvisorycommittee

1.ProjectAdvisoryCommitteeformed.ThefirstmeetingheldinJune2016,andsubsequentcorrespondence/interactiontakenplace.

4.1 Research 4.1.1 Demand side research: Quantitative 4.1.1.1 2015 baseline and 2016 follow-up surveys LIRNEasia,whenwritingtheprojectproposal,envisagedthatitwouldbeabletogetadditionalfundingfromexternalsourcestofundthe2016follow-upsurvey.However,fundraisingactivitieswereunsuccessful13,LIRNEasiawasthenforcedtoconsiderthereallocationoffundsfromthequalitativeresearchallocatedbudgettoallowforaquantitativesurveytobeconducted.SinceasignificantamountofqualitativeresearchwasundertakenatminimalcosttoLIRNEasiathroughthejointgenderstudywithGSMAConnectedWomen,thisseemedlikeafeasibleoption.Fundsforasecondroundofqualitativeresearch(USD40,000)werepreserved,andUSD60,000wasbereallocatedtothequantitativefollow-upsurvey,bringingthetotalfundsforthisactivitytoUSD100,000.Evenstill,thiswaslessthanthecostofthebaselinesurveyconductedin2015,forwhichLIRNEasiacollaboratedwithThirdEyeCoinacost-and-data-sharingagreement.ThehighmarketcostsonceagainpreventedLIRNEasiafrombeingabletoindependentlycommissionanationallyrepresentativefollow-upsurveytomeettheresearchobjectives.Thereforeonceagain,LIRNEasiahasbeenofferedalow-costopportunitywhichallowedustoinsertanumberofquestionsinThirdEye’smaidennationalquarterlypanelsurvey.

Table4:Keydifferencesbetweenthetwosurveys

2015baselinesurvey 2016follow-upsurvey

13ThefollowingorganizationswereapproachedbyLIRNEasiaforfundsforthispurpose:TelenorMyanmar,Ooreedo,ISOCAsiaPacific

Sampleagegroup15-65 15-69(15-65)

Samplesize8400 7500(7,204foranalysis)

Marginoferror+/-2.5% +/-3%

Despitethedifferencesinsamplesizeandmarginsandmarginsoferrors,theresultsfromthetwonationallyrepresentativesurveysarelargelycomparable.The2016followupsurveywascoveredthepopulationaged15-69,butonlythedatafromthepopulationaged15-65wasanalyzedforthesakeofcomparabilitywiththe2015baselinesurvey..

Theresultscanbedisaggregatedby15statesandregionsincludingNayPyiTawterritory,6geographicregions,andurbanvsrurallocationaswellasbygenderandagegroupsasappropriate.ThetownshipsaresettobePrimarySamplingUnits(PSU).32ofthe330townships(fromKachinState,KayahState,KayinState,ChinState,SagaingRegion,RakhineStateandYangonRegion)areexcludedfromthePSUsamplingframeduetoinaccessibilityandsecurityconcerns.Thedataisstratifiedasfollows:-Mainstrata:19strataof15statesandregionsincludingNayPyiTawUnionterritorywhichcanaggregatedtoform6geographicareas–Northernhills,Easternhills,MiddleDryZone,LowerValley,AyeyarwadyDeltaandLongCoast.-FirstlevelSubstrata:Thislevelofstratificationdependedonthepopulationsizeinthecitiesortownships.

Table5:Firstlevelofsub-strataforquantativeresearch

Typeofsubstrata Populationsizeinthecitiesortownships

Bigcities Greaterorequalto1million(>=1million)

Othermajorcities Between0.25millionand1million(0.25–1million)

Smallertownships Lessthan0.25million(<0.25million)

-SecondlevelSubstrata:Urban&Ruralwithinselectedsamplecities/townshipsfordisaggregatingtheestimatesbetweenurbanandrural.Samplesareallocatedtwofifthsandthreefifthsbetweenurbanandruralasappropriaterespectively.Fourstagesamplingwascarriedout.Thestages,briefly,are;Stage1:SelectionoftownshipStage2:SelectionofwardsinurbanareasandvillagetractsinruralareasinselectedtownshipsStage3:Selectionofclustersinspecifiedwards/villagetractsStage4:Selectionofhouseholdsinselectedcluster(segment)Onceahouseholdwasselected,aKishgridwasusedtoselectonerespondentfortheindividualspecificcomponentofthequestionnaire.

Formoredetailsonthemethodology,seeAnnex14.Additionally,LIRNEasiahasalsoenteredintoacollaborationwiththeNanyangTechnologicalUniversity(NTU,Singapore,underProf.RichLing’scharge),toconductfurtheranalysesoftheMyanmardatacollectedoninformationandcommunicationneedsamonglowincomeurbanmicro-enterprisesbyLIRNEasiain201414,towardacademicpapers.Onesuchpaperhasbeenco-authoredwithProf.RichLingandothersfromNTU,andsubmittedtoInformation,Communication&Societyforconsideration.Discussionsarealsocurrentlyunderwaywiththe/mobilevulnerabilityanalysisandmapping(m-Vam)teamoftheUnitedNationsWorldFoodProgrammetosharethedatafromthebaselinesurvey.Thedataistobeusedtounderstandrelationshipsbetweenfoodsecurityandmobilephoneusage,andtoproduceweightsfortheirmobilephonebasedsurveys

4.1.1.2 Impact analysis TheconceptualizationandinitialsocioeconomicimpactanalysisofthedatacollectedatbaselinewasledbyJorgeGarciaHombrados,whohassubstantiveexpertiseinimpactanalysisasaformerresearcheratJ-PALand3ie.Duetohistimeconstraintshowever,thelatterstageoftheanalysiswillbecarriedbyLIRNEasiaresearchersunderhissupervision.

Theanalysissofarhasbeenaimedatestablishinganempiricalstrategyastohowtomeasureandcalculatetheimpactsgiventhedataathand.Theinsufficientproportionofwardsandvillageswithnomobilenetworkatbaselinenecessitatedthecollectionofmobilesignalstrengthdata,suchthattheimpactsofimprovingsignalstrengthbetweenbaselineandfollow-upcouldbeassessed(asopposedtotheprovisionofmobilenetworks,wherenonepreviouslyexisted).Theempiricaldesignbeingproposedwillexploitthelargevariationinsignalstrengthacrosswardsandvillagesatbaseline,suchthataninstrumentalvariableapproachcanbeusedtomeasuresocioeconomicimpacts.Theapproachisstillbeingtested,andoncetheresearchersaresatisfiedwiththeapproach,theactualcalculationsofimpactscancommence.

4.1.2 Demand side research: Qualitative 4.1.2.1 Gender and ICTs

91respondentsaged18-65wereinterviewedforthisqualitativestudytoanalyzethereasonsfordifferencesinmobileownershipbetweenmenandwomen.Genderandtheirlocality(urbanvsrural)werekeyfactorsusedwhenselectingrespondents.

Thesampletablefortheresearchisgivenbelow.

Female Male TotalUrban(Yangon)

Rural(Pantanaw)

Urban(Yangon)

Rural(Pantanaw)

Protocols Participants

Focusgroupdiscussions

4 4 1 2 11 66

Homevisits 10 10 3 2 25 25 91Mobileownersandnonownersofofvaryingagesandsocioeconomiccategorieswereinterviewed.LIRNEasiatookpartintheselectionoftheresearchvendor(MyanmarSurveyResearch,MSR)withGSMA,designedthesampleandresearchinstruments.NilushaKapugama(FormerSeniorResearchManager,LIRNEasia)andChiranthiRajapakse(SeniorResearcher,LIRNEasia)participatedinsomeoftheearlyprotocols,conducting

14FacilitatedthroughIDRCprojectnumber107077-001

qualitychecksontheworkthatwastakingplace.LIRNEasiathenplayedasignificantpartintheanalysisofdata,usingnVivosoftwaretoanalysethetranscripts.ThereportwasauthoredbyAyeshaZainudeen(SeniorResearchManager,LIRNEasia)andHelaniGalpaya(CEO,LIRNEasia),withcontributionsfromGSMA(mainlyintermsoffeedback),leadingtoadetailedsetofpolicyrecommendationsforawidegroupofstakeholders.Thereportwascopy-editedandpublishedbyGSMA,whohasalsofundedtheprintingcostof100copies.

4.1.2.2Freeandsubsidizeddatause

QualitativeresearchintheformofFGDswascarriedoutinovertwoweeksinJuly2016inYangon.MIDOcarriedouttherecruitmentforthissetoffocusgroups.PhyuPhyuThi(ResearchDirector,MIDO)moderatedthefocusgroupdiscussions.6763respondentsfromSECsAtoEinurbanandruralareasinYangonwereinterviewed.Alltherespondentsweremobiledatausers.Whilesomeusershadusedzeroratedcontent,othershadnot.HelaniGalpaya(CEO,LIRNEasia)andPeterCihon(GooglePolicyFellow,LIRNEasia)supervisedtheFGDs.

4.1.3 Web literacy developmentMIDOhasbeenworkingwithamobileoperatortodevelopacurriculumtobetaughtatthetelecentrestopromotemobileandcomputerliteracy.PilotresearchwiththetelecentreoperatorsandcustomersonthecurriculumandthedemandforthetrainingtookplaceinYangonandNayPyiTawinApril2016.Contingenttohelackofobjectionsfromtheimplementingpartiesandavailabilityofdata,thewebliteracycurriculumwillbedocumentedandthedataonthedemandforeachoftheseserviceswillbeanalysed.

4.1.4 Broadband QoSE testingMobilebroadbandinMyanmarispredominantlyaccessedviamobilephones.GiventhenegligibleavailabilityoffixedbroadbandinMyanmar,thefocuswasonthreesimilarmobiledataplansofferedbyMPT,OoredooMyanmarandTelenorMyanmar.However,thedevicesthatwereaccessibletoMIDOandLIRNEasiadidnotmeetthenecessaryspecificationsinthatsomehadolderversionsofAndroidandothersdidnotsupport3GontheGSMnetwork.DuetocompatibilityissuesthetestingscheduledforearlyMarch2016waspostponedtoMay2016(Aprilhadtobeavoidedasmostpeoplewereonholidayforapproximately2weeksinAprilduetotheWaterFestival).LIRNEasiasecuredfundingfromM-Labtopurchasesuitabledevices.TheSamsungJ1wasusedasthetestingdeviceinallinstances.

Figure10:TestinglocationsforQoSEtesting

Table6:PlansselectedfromthedifferentoperatorsforQoSEtesting

There are many tools and methods that can be used to measure broadband Quality of Service. Often, theunderlyingmethodologyadoptedisoneofthereasonsastowhyreadingsvastlydifferbasedonthetoolusedfortesting.15LIRNEasiaconsideredOokla’sSpeedTestandtheOpenTechnologyInstitute’sNetworkDiagnosticTool(NDT).Themethodologyof theformer ispartiallyopaquewhereasNDT iswelldocumented(ThemethodologyandtechnicaldetailsoftheNDTcanbefoundathttps://github.com/ndt-project/ndt/wiki/NDTTestMethodology).

Theresearchersconducteddiagnosticsontwoweekdaysandaweekend(fourdaysintotal)duringthesecondweekinMay2016,atmultipletimesoftheday(8:00,11:0015:00,18:0020:00and23:00)toironoutpotentialpeak/off-peaktrafficvariations.

Researcherscoveredlocationsinallthestatesandregions.Thetestinglocationscanbeseeninfigurex.Ideally,multiple locationswouldhavebeencoveredtogeographicallyrepresentastate/region.However,asthiswasaresource-intensiveexercise,one townshipwasselectedper state/ region.Diagnosticswerecarriedout inonelocationpertownship.

The intended use of the server in Bangkok was to replicate it as a locally hosted server. This was the initialhypothesis.However,oncompletionofthediagnosticsitwasevidentthattheNDTserverinneighboringBangkokcannotbeaproxyforaserverwithinthenationaldomain.TraceroutesfromYangontowww.google.comandtotheNDTservers inLAandBangkokillustratetheroutestakenbetweentheclientandserver.SeveralprivateIPaddresses were encountered which are most likely to be within the service provider’s network and packetsreached/wasroutedthroughBangkokafterasignificantnumberofhops.Ideally,alocallyhostedserverwouldbe used to measure broadband QoSE within the local domain.LIRNEasiaisintheprocessofevaluatingthreeothermobileappsandwillemployacrowd-sourcedapproachtoincreasethegeographicalcoverageofmeasuringasbroadbandquality,whichishighlylocationsensitive.

4.2 Capacity building4.2.1 Capacity building for policymakers Attheinitialstatesofprojectplanning,itwasenvisagedthatonecourseone-governmentandone-courseforlegislatorsontelecommunicationsforregulatorswouldbecarriedout.Nocoursestookplaceinthefirstyearof

15Zuhyle,S.&Mirandilla-Santos,G.2015.MeasuringBroadbandPerformance:LessonsLearnt,ChallengesFaced.Availableat:http://www.cprsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CPR-south-2015_Measuring-Broadband-Performance-Lessons-Learnt-Challenges-Faced_PP21_Final.pdfandBauer,S.etal.2010.UnderstandingBroadbandSpeedMeasurements.MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Availableat:http://groups.csail.mit.edu/ana/Publications/Understanding_broadband_speed_measurements_bauer_clark_lehr_TPRC_2010.pdf

MPT1 OoredooMyanmar1

TelenorMyanmar1

DataPlan 1.35GB InternetMonthly1.35GB

Smart InternetMonthPack1.25GB

Price MMK6500 MMK6850 MMK6600

AdvertisedSpeed

Notadvertised Notadvertised Upto2Mbps

Validity 30days 30days 30days

theprojectasduetochangesinthepoliticallandscape.TrainingthelegislatorsmayhavebeenredundantduetotheimpendingchangeinCabinetportfolios;gettingtheattentionofothergovernmentofficialsduringthisperiodwasachallengegiventherapidchangesinthepoliticallandscape.Inthesecondyearoftheproject,oncethenewCabinetwasappointed,acourseonsocialmediaande-governmentfor20membersofUnionParliamentwasbeingorganized.Duringthis,arequestcamefrommembersoftheYangonRegionalParliamenttoconductasimilartrainingfortheirentireparliament,andofferedtheirparliamentarypremisesasavenue.Fundsstillremainduetocostsavingsfromorganizingthecourses(duetosavingsonthevenueprimarily).TheinterestofthemembersoftheYangonRegionalParliamentwashighandrequestedfollowupcourses,particularlyforothergovernmentofficials.Hence,anothercourseisbeingconceptualized/organizedontheuseofdataforpolicyforgovernmentofficials.

4.3 Policy intervention 4.3.1 Catalyzing ICT access for the disabled community Myanmar’s2014nationalcensusrevealedthat4.6percentofthepopulationofMyanmarlivedwithdisabilities;2.5percentofthepopulationwasvisuallyimpaired.16AccesstoICTsforthissegmentofthepopulationisproblematic.LIRNEasia’sobjectiveistostepinordertocatalyzetherateatwhichtheygainaccesstoICTs,particularlytheInternet.FollowingmeetingswithmultiplestakeholdersinFebruary2016,anumberofproblemsinaccessibilityofICTsforthedisabledwereidentified.LIRNEasiawrotetotwooperatorssuggestingthatanactionplanwasdrawnuppromoteaccessibilitybythedisabledsuchasprovidingbillingandotherinformationinaccessibleformatsandensuringthatthewebsiteisWCAG2.0compliant.Furtherprogressonthiswasnotmadeduethelackofengagementfromtheoperators.Duringthisvisititwasalsolearntthattechnicalproblemsexistinconvertingdevicessuchaselectronicbookreaders(eg:DAISYreaders)intotheMyanmarlanguage,thoughtherootcausewasunclear.Aleadingfigureinresolvingtechnicalissues,Mr.DipendraManochawasinvitedtoMyanmartoscopeouttheexistingsituationandidentifythebottleneckspreventingthetexttospeechengine(TTS)fromworkingoptimally.Furtherdetailsonhismeetings,findingsandworkcanbeseeninsection5.4.2andAnnex16.Planswerealosunderwaytoorganizeahackathontodevelopapplicationsforthedisabled.However,subsequently,itwaslearntthatotherpartiesinMyanmarwereplanningtorunsimilarprogrammes.Instead,thefocuswasshiftedtowardsworkingwithcontentproviderssuchas7daynewsindevelopingapplicationsintheUnicodefont,whichcouldbereadbyscreenreadingsoftwareneededforthetext-to-speechenginetowork.

4.4 Myanmar advisory board

ThecontractimposedthatLIRNEasiashouldformaprojectadvisoryboardforthisprojecttoevaluateitsworkandprovidesuggestionsforfurtherwork.DrRobertAnderson,professorofcommunication(atSimonFraserUniversity,Canada)andtrained,directoroftheprogramonDevelopmentandSustainability,andwhohasworkedinMyanmarfordecadesandiscurrentlybuildinganetworkofyoungenvironmentalistsinMyanmaragreedtochairthisboard.Theboardmembersare,1.Dr.RobertAnderson-SimonFraserUniversity,Canada2.Dr.ThantThawKuang-MyanmarBookAidandPreservationFoundation

16http://data.unhcr.org/thailand/download.php?id=421

3.VickyBowman-MyanmarCentreforResponsibleBusiness4.NayLinSoe-MyanmarIndependentLivingInitiative5.WaiPhioMyint-MyanmarCentreforResponsibleBusinessThefirstboardmeetingwasheldinJune2016attheSuleShangrilaHotelinYangon.Allbutoneboardmember,VickyBowman(whothenrecommendedanotherboardmemberWaiPhioMyint),theIDRCprojectofficerPhetSayo,PraneshPrakashofCIS,thefoundingmembersofMIDO(HtaikeHtaikeAung,PhyuPhyuThi,WaiMyoHtutandYatanarHtun)andrepresentativesfromLIRNEasia(HelaniGalpaya,RohanSamarajivaandGayaniHurulle)werepresentattheboardmeeting.LIRNEasia’sworkinMyanmarwaspresentedtotheboard,anddiscussionensued.

5. Project outputs and dissemination 5.1 Research outputs Table7:Researchoutputs

Researchreports

Galpaya,H.,Zainudeen,A.&Suthaharan,P.(2015)AbaselinesurveyofICTandknowledgeaccessinMyanmar

Researchreportbasedonbaselinequantitativestudy

Complete Annex1

Zainudeen,A.&Galpaya,H.(2015)Mobilephones,internetandgenderinMyanmar

Researchreportbasedonqualitativestudy

Complete Annex2

Cihon,P.&Galpaya,H.(2017)Navigatingthewalledgarden:FreeandsubsidizeddatauseinMyanmar

Researchreportbasedonqualitativeresearch

Complete Annex3

Zuhyle,S.(2016)QualityofServiceExperiencedbyMobileBroadbandusersinMyanmar

ResearchreportbasedonfirstroundofQoSEtesting

Complete Annex4

PublicationsParekh,P.,Ling,R.,Zainudeen,A.&Galpaya,H.(2017) Rationalizationofmobiletelephonybysmall-scaleentrepreneursinMyanmar.

ReadyforpeerreviewNotethepaperwaswritteninthecurrentcyclethoughtheresearchwasdoneunderthepreviousgrant/cycle

Draft Annex5

Conferencepapers

Galpaya,H.,Zainudeen,A.,Rajapakse,C.,Kapugama,N.(2015).Information/communicationhabitsandneedsofthelowincomemicroentrepreneursinMyanmarandtheroleformobilephones.

ConferencepaperpresentedatCPRsouth2016,Taipei,Taiwan.Notethepaperwaswritteninthecurrentcyclethoughtheresearchwasdoneunderthepreviousgrant/cycle

Complete Annex6

Samarajiva,R.&Hurulle,G.(2016)Regulationunderconstrainedcapacity:LessonsforMyanmar

ConferencepaperpresentedatITS,Taiwan

Complete Annex7

Galpaya,H.,Zainudeen,A.andHurulle,G.(2016)Factorsaffectingwomen'sabilitytopurchasemobilephonesinMyanmar.

ConferencepaperpresentedatCPRsouth2016

Complete Annex8

Suthaharan,P.,Zainudeen,A.,andGalpaya,H.(2016)UnderstandingGenderVarianceinMobileOwnershipinMyanmar

ConferencepaperpresentedatCPRsouth2016

Complete Annex9

Rajapakse,C.N.,Zainudeen,A.,Galpaya,H.,andSuthaharan,P.(2016)FactorsinfluencinguseofmobiledataservicesamongwomeninMyanmar

ConferencepaperpresentedatCPRsouth2016

Complete Annex10

Samarajiva,R.(2016)Policychallengesinembracingmobiletechnologytopromotesocioeconomicdevelopment:ThecaseofMyanmar

Conferencepaperpresentedat QualComm-LKYSchoolResearchConference

Complete Annex11

OtherGalpaya,H.,Zainudeen,A.,Suthaharan,P.,Hurulle,G.,Aung,H.H.&Thi,P.P.(2016)Mobilephones,Internet,informationandknowledge:Myanmar2016

SlidesetpresentedtotheDeputyMinisterofTransportandCommunications,andmediaandcivilsocietyorganizations

Complete Annex12

5.2 Dissemination 5.2.1 LIRNEasia organized events 5.2.1.1Demandsideresearch:QuantitativeEventswereorganizedinYangonandNayPyiTawtodisseminatetheresultsofthebaselinesurveytokeystakeholders.Thefindingsofthebaselinesurveywerepresentedtomembersofunionparliament,mobileoperators,NGOS,themediaandotherstakeholdersattheSuleShangriLa,Yangonon29thJuly2015.HelaniGalpayacarriedouta50minutepresentationofthekeyfindingsofthenation-widesurvey.Thebooktitled“MobileCommunication”byRichLingandJonathanDonnerwhichwastranslatedintoBarmawasformallypresentedtoUKyawMinandUMyintOo(MembersofParliament,Myanmar)byNaserFaruqui(IDRC)andRohanSamarajiva(LIRNEasia)atthisevent.Copiesofthebookweremadeavailabletoallparticipantsattheevent.AcomprehensiveQ&Asessionfollowedthepresentation,withHelaniGalpaya,PhyuPhyuThi(MIDO)andHtunHtunOo(ThirdEyeCo.Ltd)takingquestionsfromtheaudience.ThefindingswerealsopresentedtoUThaungTin,UnionDeputyMinisterofCommunicationandInformationTechnologyandotherGovernmentofficersattheAureumPalaceHotel,NayPyiTawon30thJuly2015.AcomprehensiveQ&Awascarriedoutafterthe50minutepresentationbyHelaniGalpaya.Severalcopiesofthetranslatedversionof“MobileCommunication”werepresentedtotheDeputyMinister.TheeventreportcanbefoundinAnnex17TheresearchfindingswerealsosharedwithmembersofUnionandYangonRegionalParliamentasapartofacourseonsocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernanceinJune2016.Seesection5.4forfurtherdetails.Aneventwasorganizedon17December2016attheNovotel,Yangontodisseminatetheresultsofthefollow-upsurveytothemediaandotherstakeholders.HelaniGalpayacarriedoutapresentationthekey-findingsofthesurvey.Anumberofmediainterviewsfollowed.Mr.NayLinSoe,amemberoftheMyanmaradvisoryboardalsogaveinterviewstothemediaonaccessibilityofICTstothedisabled.AneventreportcanbefoundonAnnex185.2.1.2Demandsideresearch:QualitativeHelaniGalpayapresentedthefindingsofthejointresearchbyGSMAConnectedWomen&LIRNEasiaon“Mobilephones,internet&genderinMyanmar”attheChatriumHotel,Yangonon8April2016.TheeventorganizedbyLIRNEasiaandMIDOwasusedasaforumtodiscussissuespertainingtogenderandICTsinMyanmaratlarge.

Samarajiva,R.&Hurulle,G.(2016)PerformanceofUniversalServiceFunds:India,MalaysiaandPakistan

SlidesetpresentedatInternationalCouncilofCommunicationsConference

Complete Annex13

AResearchDesignfortheAssessmentoftheSocioeconomicEffectsofImprovingtheStrengthofMobilePhoneSignalinMyanmar

Quantitativestudy Draft Annex14

KhinSandarWin&HtlaSanHtwepresentedtherationalebehindandtheworkingsoftheUNDPiWomenapplicationwhileHtaikeHtaikeAungofMIDOspokeoftheroleofwomenasappdevelopers,hackersandcoders.TheeventwaswellattendeddespiteitbeingheldonthelastworkingdaypriortotheNewYearWaterFestivalholidays.Noteworthywasthelargemediapresence,withtheeventbeingcoveredbymultipleprint,televisionandonlinemediaoutlets.Diversestakeholderssuchmobileoperators,appdevelopersandNGOsalsoparticipatedattheevent,engagingdeeplywiththepresenter.TheresultsofthegenderqualitativewerealsopresentedtoMarlaBu,RegulatoryAffairsattheOoredooMyanmarheadofficeon7April2016.Theeventreportcanbeaccessedhere

5.2.2 Meetings 5.2.2.1Demandsideresearch:Quantitative5.2.2.1.1 2015 baseline researchHelaniGalpayapresentedthefindingsoftheMyanmarbaselinesurveytotwosmallergroupsonthe28thofJulyinYangon;1.TheICT4DWorkingGroupatthePhandeeyarauditorium:theICTDWorkingGroupisagatheringofallorganizations(donors,civilsocietymostly,butafewprivatesectororganizations)implementingand/orfundingICTDprojectsinMyanmar.PhandeeyaristhemaininnovationhubinYangon,andagatheringplaceforalltechiesandvenueforhackathons.2.GunnarBertelsen,ChiefCorporateAffairsOfficerofTelenorMyanmarattheTelenorOffice,YangonRohanSamarajivametwiththePresidentandGeneralSecretaryoftheMyanmarComputerFederation(MCF),pursuanttosuchsuggestionmadetohimbyUThaungTin.Thismeetingwasheldonthe28thofJulyattheMCFofficeinYangon.5.2.2.1.2 2016 follow-up surveyLIRNEasiaCEOHelaniGalpayaandtheMIDOco-founders(PhyuPhyuThi,HtaikeHtaikeAungandWaiMyoHtut)metwiththeDeputyMinisterofTransportandCommunications,UKyawMyotopresenttheresultsofthe2016follow-upsurveyofICTuseinMyanmar.USaiSawLinTun,DeputyDirectorGeneraloftheITandCyberSecurityDepartmentintheMinistryandotherofficialswerealsopresent.

5.2.2.2BroadbandQoSEtestingTheresultsofthefirstroundofBroadbandQoSEtestingwasdisseminatedtothethreeoperators

Table8:Meetings-disseminationofBBQoSEtesting

Operator Dateandlocationofmeeting AttendeesMPT 22June,MPT-BoAungKyaw

officeCherryMyoTint,DeputyChiefTechnologyOfficer

TelenorMyanmar 21June-TelenorMyanmarHeadOffice

GunnarBertelsen,ChiefCorporateAffairsOfficerJaiPrakash,ChiefTechnologyOfficer

OoredooMyanmar 21June-OoredooMyanmarHeadOffice

ChristopherPierce,ChiefLegalandRegulatoryOfficerBobMcDonald,LegalandRegulatoryAdvisor

5.2.3 Participation at conferences, panel discussions and workshops WSISForum,Geneva,June2015The2015WSISForumheldinGeneva,SwitzerlandinJune2015wasattendedbyHelaniGalpaya.UN-DESAITUexpertgroupmeeting,NewYork,June2015HelaniGalpayaparticipatedintheUN-DESAandITUorganizedexpertgroupmeetinginNewYork,USAinJune2015.ICTD2015Conference,Singapore,July2015LIRNEasiaparticipatedinanopensessiononMyanmarattheICTDConferenceinSingaporeinMay2015.Apresentationtitled“Knowledge,informationandcommunicationhabitsandneedsinMyanmar:Storiesfromthefield”wasmadetothoseinattendance.

AsiaPacificRegionalInternetGovernanceForum(IGF),Macau,July2015Apresentationtitled“Whatdouserswant?Datafromthelast“greenfield”market,Myanmar”waspresentedbyRohanSamarajivaattheAsiaPacificRegionalIGFinMacauinJuly2015.CommunicAsia,Singapore,July2015LIRNEasiaorganizedandmoderatedapaneldiscussiononMyanmaratCommunicAsiainSingaporeinJuly2015.StockholmInternetForum,Sweden,Oct2015ApaneldiscussionattheStockholmInternetForuminOctober2015wasorganizedandmoderatedbyLIRNEasia.Theorganization’s‘allfronts’approachwasusedasaframeworkforthediscussionandasubsetofthefindingsofthebaselinesurveywerepresentedattheforum.RohanSamarajivawasthemoderatorofthesessionwhilepanelistsincludedHtaikeHtaikeAungandYatanarHtunofMIDOandEiMyatNoeKhinofPhandeeyar.InternetGovernanceForum,JoaoPassoa,Brazil,Nov2015HelaniGalpayaparticipatedin8sessions(3mainsessions,4workshops,onepre-IGFevent).Inallbut2oftheseevents,theresultsoftheMyanmarhouseholdsurveywerereferencedtoprovidecontextforthediscussions.

JointQualComm-LKYSchoolResearchConference,Singapore,April2016RohanSamarajivapresentedthepaperPolicychallengesinembracingmobiletechnologytopromotesocioeconomicdevelopment:ThecaseofMyanmarinSingapore.Thefullpapercanbeaccessedinannex11UNCommissiononScienceTechnologyandDevelopment(UNCSTD)panel,Geneva,Switzerland,May2016TheresearchfromthisprojectprovidedthebasisofevidenceatLIRNEasia’spresentationmadebyHelaniGalpayaatthe19thsessionoftheUNCSTD(CommissiononScienceTechnologyandDevelopment)inGeneva,SwitzerlandinMay2016.InternationalTelecommunicationSocietyBiennialConference,Taipei,Taiwan,Jun2016RohanSamarajivapresentedthefindingsofthepaperRegulationunderconstrainedcapacity:LessonsforMyanmaratthe21stbiennialconferenceoftheInternationalTelecommunicationsSocietyinTaiwan.ReferAnnex7toaccessthepaper.

CPRsouth,Zanzibar,Tanzania,Sep2016GayaniHurulle,SuthaharanPerampalamandChiranthiRajapaksepresentedthreepaperspertaininggenderandICTsinMyanmarbasedonthebaselinesurveyfindings.ReferAnnex8,9and10toaccessthepapers.InternationalInstituteofCommunicationsAnnualConference,Bangkok,Thailand,Oct2016RohanSamarajivapresentedresearchconductedontheefficacyofUniversalServiceFunds,whichwastobeusedabaseforpolicyinterventiononUSFsinMyanmar.ReferAnnex13toaccesstheslidesetA4AIGendercoalitionmeeting,Yangon,Myanmar,Nov2016HelaniGalpayapresentedthepreliminaryresultsofthe2016survey,pertainingtotheuseandaccessofICTsbywomen.InternetGovernanceForum,Gualadajara,Mexico,Dec2016DatafromthetwosurveysaswellasgeneraldataonMyanmarwereusedinmultiplepanelsattheIGF.

MyanmarDigitalRightsForum,Yangon,Dec2016HelaniGalpayaparticipatedintheMyanmarDigitalRightsForuminYangon,MyanmarinDecember2016andpresenteddatafromthe2016survey.ICT4DWorkingGroup,Yangon,Myanmar,Feb2016HtaikeHtaikeAungpresentedthedataofthefollow-upsurveyattheICT4Dworkinggroupdiscussionson22February2017atPhandeeyar.5.2.4 News/media coverage Table9:Mediacoverage

Date Publisher Nameofarticle(linkifany) Author

Print

08/03/16 MyanmarTimes

OoredoolaunchesK30,000smartphone

CatherineTrautwein

09/04/16 ElevenNews �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

23/06/16 MyanmarTimes

Theeconomyneedsmorewomenworking ThinYeeMonSu

12/12/16 ElevenNews Women'sITskillslagging:study

17/12/16 DailyEleven Despitetelecommunicationsadvances,digitalliteracyweak,particularlyamongstwomen(translated)

NayMyoTun

17/12/17 7DayDaily FacebookusersinMyanmarisabout12million(translated)

MyintKyawHlaing

18/12/16 7DayDaily ICTimprovementsinMyanmar(translated) MyintKyawHlaing

20/12/16 Myawaddy Digitalliteracyrateneedstobeimprovedinthecountry

21/12/16 NewsdayNew

78%smartphoneusageinMyanmarsimilartothatintheUSA

ZawMin

25/12/16 UnionDaily Facingdifficultiesingettingfullpotentialofopportunitiesandotherservicesduetolackofdigitalliteracy

MayLwin

27/12/16 7DayDaily Asurveyshowsthatthereissometroubleamongstlocalmobilephoneusersinfindinginformation

MyintKyawHlaing

TV

09/04/16 Skynet Mobilephone,internet&genderlaunchevent

09/04/16 MRTV Mobilephone,internet&genderlaunchevent

09/04/16 MNTV Mobilephone,internet&genderlaunchevent

23/12/16 MBC ICThabitsandneeds

Radio

09/04/16 FMBagan Mobilephone,internet&genderlaunchevent

17/12/16 PadmayarFM

ICTuseandinformationneeds

Web

06/04/16 InternetJournal

GSMAConnectedWomen������������������������������������

09/04/16 KamayutMedia

Mobilephone,internet&genderlaunchevent

16/12/16 NewsWatch Myanmar’ssmartphoneusageisnowalmostthatofUS:LIRNEasia(translated)

19/12/16 InternetJournal

LIRNEasiashowedthatamongmobileownersaged15-65inMyanmar,21percentuseFacebookdaily(translated)

TunTun

Table10:Blogposts

Date Nameofblogpost(linkifany) Author

13/03/16 LIRNEasiaresearchcitedinreportonUSD25smartphoneinMyanmar

RohanSamarajiva

03/04/16 OoredooMyanmar’sdatasuccessstory RohanSamarajiva

09/04/16 GSMAConnectedWomen-LIRNEasiafindingson“Mobilephones,internet&genderinMyanmar”launchedinYangon

GayaniHurulle

22/04/16 WhatcanonesayaboutpolicybarrierstomobilecommunicationinASEAN?

RohanSamarajiva

16/05/16 MIDOcontinuesraisingawarenessonhowICTscanservepersonswithdisabilities

RohanSamarajiva

31/05/16 AssessmentofMediaDevelopmentinMyanmar:LIRNEasia’sBaselineSurveyResultsQuoted

SuthaharanPerampalam

21/06/16 TrainingprogramforMyanmarUnionLegislators RohanSamarajiva

24/06/16 E-govcourseforparliamentariansoftheYangonRegionalHluttaw GayaniHurulle

29/06/16 WhatcanMyanmarlearnfromitspeersasitsetsupitsICTregulatoryagency?

RohanSamarajiva

20/07/16 LIRNEasia-GSMAresearchongenderdimensionsofMyanmarteleusereported

RohanSamarajiva

26/08/16 LinkingtheAsiaPacificInformationSuperhighwaytotheuserexperienceandInternettakeupintheAsiaPacific

RohanSamarajiva

29/08/16 MyanmarappearstohavemoreInternet(oratleastFacebook)usersthananySAsiancountry

RohanSamarajiva

22/11/16 LIRNEasiasourceofMyanmarsmartphonedatainMeasuringInformationSociety2016Report

RohanSamarajiva

17/12/16 Firstcoveragefor2016Myanmarteleusestudy RohanSamarajiva18/12/16 Myanmar2016ICTsurveyreleasedinYangon 18/12/16 Step1inICTsforthevisualdisabledinMyanmar:bringing

stakeholderstogethertofindthetechnicalsolutionHelaniGalpaya

18/12/16 LIRNEasiaatMyanmarDigitalRightsForum HelaniGalpaya

5.3 Capacity building 5.3.1 Capacity building for LIRNEasia Inthepast,LIRNEasiaworkedwithqualitativeresearchpartnerssuchasCKSIndia,whowouldinturnsub-contractwithalocal(Myanmarese)firmtodothelocallanguagemoderation,translation/interpretationandrespondentrecruitment.ButforthestudyonICTsandgender,,LIRNEasialiaseddirectlywithMyanmarSurveyResearch(MSR),thefieldresearchagency,whencarryingoutthequalitativestudy,insteadofhavingathirdpartysuchasCKSinthemiddle.ThelackofathirdpartyledtoknowledgecreationforLIRNEasiaintermsofsampledesignandinstrumentdesigninamuchmoredirectandthoroughformthanpreviously.Furthermore,capacitywasbuiltonanorganizationallevelduetolearningtousetheNvivo,aqualitativedataanalysiscomputersoftware. LIRNEasiastaffarealsotakingalargerroleintheconductofanimpactevaluationusingthesurveydata.AlargeportionoftheworkinthelatterstagesoftheanalysiswillbeconductedbytheLIRNEasiaresearchersundertheguidanceofJorgeGarciaHombardos.

5.3.2 Capacity building for MIDO

PhyuPhyuThi,ResearchDirectorforMIDOjoinedLIRNEasiainthefieldduringthequantitativeresearchinboth2015and2016.Hercapacityinallaspectsofqualitativeresearchwasdeveloped–includingqualitycontrol,becauseshewastaskedspecificallywithcallingbackrandomlyselectedrespondentstovalidatetheiranswers.Shealsomoderatedthefocusgroupdiscussionsinthequalitativeresearchonfreeandsubsidizeddata.OtherMIDOemployeeshavealsobecomemoreinvolvedintheresearchconductedinMyanmar.HtaikeHtaikeAungandHninNuNuNiangjoinedintheobservationoffieldworkforthe2016survey,andotherstaffalsoconductedthebackchecksonthesurvey(callingarandomlyselectednumberofsurveyparticipantstoverifytheiranswerstosurveyquestions,inorderensurequalityofthefieldworkteams).WithLIRNEasia’sguidanceMIDOstaffalsorecruitedparticipantsforthefreeandsubsidizeddataresearch(co-fundedbyMozillaandGoogle)andalsoconductedthefocusgroupsandprovidedtranslationservices.MIDOstaffalsoassistedinrecruitmentandtestingfortheBBQoSEtestingundertheguidanceofLIRNEasiastaff.MIDO’scommunicationofficer,MyoMinAung,isthecontactpointforLIRNEasia’sworkinMyanmarandhasworkedwithLIRNEasiastafftoorganizemultipledisseminationeventsandcourses.Hehasalsoworkedondisseminatingthe2016surveyresearchandhasgiveninterviewstomediaoutletsatdisseminationevents.PrashanthiWeragoda(SeniorFinanceManger,LIRNEasia)andPriyadarshiniLiyanage(Account,LIRNEasia)spentaweekinYangoninApril2016toconductfinancialtrainingforMIDO’sfinancialofficerandseniorstaff.Thefinanceexpertsassessedthestatusquooffinancialsonsubjectssuchaspettycash,banktransactions,salaries,fixedassets.Theimportanceofpettycashprocedureswereexplainedandformshandedover.Theexistingpurchasingprocedurewasreviewedandchangesweresuggested.Cashmanagementprocedureswerediscussedwiththefinanceofficer.ItwasrecommendedthataprofessionallyqualifiedaccountantwashiredandthataMIDOofficerwastrainedonanaccountingsoftware.MIDOhassubsequentlyreportedthattheirfinancialofficerhadattendedtrainingonQuickbooks-anaccountingsoftware,andspokenoftheirintentiontohireanaccountant,atleastoneparttimebasis.

HelaniGalpayaalongwithPrashanthiWeragodaandPriyadarshiniLiyanage,alsospentahalfdaysessionon9April2016withtheMIDOseniorstafftoprovidetrainingonbudgetingandprojectreporting.NoteworthyisthatMIDOhasbeenabletoobtainabusinessregistrationcertificate,andisnowoperatingasaregisteredentityinMyanmar.

5.3.3 Capacity building for policymakersTwocoursestitled‘SocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernance:Egovforparliamentarians’tookplaceinYangoninJuly2016.ItisnoteworthythatthecoursesweredesignedinresponsetorequestsmadebytheParliamentarians.

1.UnionParliamentLIRNEasiaandMIDOorganizedadaylongcoursefor20legislatorsfromtheUpperandLowerhousesoftheMyanmarUnionParliamentattheChatriumHotel,Yangonon21June2016.Asingleparticipantwasfemale.RohanSamarajivaspokeofthesignificanceofICTstolegislators,legislationandtheneedforindependentregulation.HelaniGalpayasharedtheresultsofthe2015surveyonICTuseandinformationneeds,andspokeonthetopicofzeroratingandnet-neutrality.PhyuPhyuThiandHninNuNuNaingmadeapresentationonMynamar’sexperiencewithonlinehatespeech.

AneventreportcanbefoundonAnnex19

2.YangonRegionalParliamentAtwodaycourseorganizedbyLIRNEasiaandMIDOtookplaceon22and23Junewithintheparliamentarypremises.ItsawtheparticipationofrepresentativesfromNationalLeagueforDemocracy(NLD),theMilitaryandUnionSolidarityandDevelopmentParty(USDP).87Parliamentariansparticipatedintotal,withover80attendeeseachday.15ofthe87parliamentarians(17%)werefemale.WhileProfSamarajivaspokeofthesignificanceofICTstolegislators,improvinggovernmentservicedeliveryandmobilephonesandhealthconcerns,HelaniGalpayasharedthefindingsofthe2016surveyandconductedasessiononhowtomeasureprogress.HtiakeHtaikeAungandYatanarHtunspokeontheuseofapplicationswhilePraneshPrakashdiscussedopensourceandsecurityissues.ManyMPsalsovisitedthedigitalsecurityclinicforonetooneconsultationsonhowtheycouldsecuretheirsocialmediaaccounts.Thepresentationswerewell-received,withthecontentandspeakersgettingaratingof4outof5onaverage.Participantscommentedontheusefulnatureofthecourseandspokeofhowsuchtrainingwouldalsobeusefulforothergovernmentofficials.AneventreportcanbefoundonAnnex20

5.4 Policy intervention 5.4.1 Telecommunications

5.4.1.1TelecommunicationsMasterplan(Annex21)TheMinistryofCommunicationsandInformationTechnology(MCIT)publishedadraftTelecommunicationsMasterplanfortheRepublicoftheUnionofMyanmarinJuly2015.LIRNEasiaandMIDOjointlysubmittedrecommendationsfortheMyanmarTelecommunicationsMasterplanon7thAugust2015.Recommendationsweremadeonarangeoftopicsincludingthelanguagetobeusedforthedraftingofthepolicy,thelackofclarityonthedesignofuniversalservicefundsandthelackofadequateconsiderationmadetotheexecutionofpolicymechanisms.Furthermore,HtaikeHtaikeAungofMIDOtraveledtoNayPyiTawandprovidedcommentsontheMasterplan.

5.4.1.2InternationalGatewayFacilityServices(Annex22)AdraftversionoftheGuidelinesonProvisionofInternationalGatewayFacilityServiceswaspublishedbytheMCITinOctober2015.LIRNEasiaandMIDO,submittedawrittenresponsewithsuggestionsforimprovementstotheguidelineswhilecommendingtheeffortsoftheMCITtoliberalizethetelecommunicationsservicesmarket.Recommendationsincludedallowingthecreationofmultiplegatewaysbasedonmultiplemedia,removalofdifferentialdomesticandinternationalterminationpricingandgivingnecessaryconsiderationtodatacommunication.

5.4.1.3AllocationofSpectrumFrequency(Annex23)TheMinistryofCommunicationsandInformationTechnology(MCIT)publishedaconsultationpapertitled'SpectrumRoadmap:Meettheneedoverthenext5years'on1stFebruary2016.RohanSamarajivaandMoinulZaberrespondedtotheconsultationpapersubmittingaresponsethatplacedemphasisonprinciplesimportanttoensuretheefficientuseofthespectrumasset.Theyaddressedthequestionsof1.NeutralityofBandandTechnology2.Opportunitytorefarmandrepurposealreadyacquiredbands3.Embeddingallauctionsandassignmentswithinapre-announcedandcrediblyimplementedroadmapformakingspectrumresourcesavailabletooperators4.Useofcarefullydesignedandwelltimedauctionsasallocationmethod5.Formulatingalicensingregimethatclearlysetoutconditionsforentrytoandexitfromthemarket6.UseofnewmethodssuchasharnessingBigDatatoformulateplansagainstharmfulinterference.

5.4.1.4DesignofregulatoryagencyandapolicyunitwithintheMinistry(Annex24)HtaikeHtaikeAungofMIDO,undertheguidanceofRohanSamarajiva,providedrecommendationsonthedesignoftheregulatoryagency,theMyanmarTelecommunicationsCommissionasprovidedforbytheTelecomLaw.FurtherrecommendationsincludedtheestablishmentofapolicyunitwithintheMinistry.

5.4.2 Disabled friendly devices LIRNEasia,alongwithMIDOandCentreforInternet&Society(CIS)areworkingtowardsensuringtheparticipationofdifferentlyabledindividualsinthemobileandInternetrevolutionsinMyanmar.RohanSamarajiva(Chair,LIRNEasia)andNirmitaNarasimhan(PolicyDirector,CIS)metwithamultitudeofstakeholderstodiscussissuesrelatedtoe-accessibilityforpersonswithdisabilities.NirmitaNarasimhamwasinstrumentalinengagingwithkeystakeholdersinthefieldbymakingrecommendationsonpolicyleveldecisionsthatcouldbemadetosupportdisabilityaccess.Facetofacemeetingstookplaceon3rdand4thFebruary2016withthefollowingindividuals.1.ChristopherPeirce-OoredooMyanmar2.PatriciaCurran-TelenorMyanmar3.AungLwinOo-KyeeMyinDianSchoolfortheBlind4.NayLinSoe-MyanmarIndependentLivingInitiative5.SarahOh-Phandeeyar6.KyawKyaw-MyanmarDeafCommunityDevelopmentAssociation7.ThantThawKuang-MyanmarBookAidandPreservationFoundation8.VickyBowman-MyanmarCentreforResponsibleBusinessTherolesthateachpartycouldplayinmakinginformationresourcesavailableandaccessibletoindividualswithdisabilitieswasdiscussedatlengthandfollowupconversationstodiscusstheseactionpointswereinitiated.Annexures11to15containthefollowupnotessenttovariousstakeholders.Annex25-ChristopherPeirce-OoredooMyanmarAnnex26-PatriciaCurran-TelenorMyanmarAnnex27-NayLinSoe-MyanmarIndependentLivingInitiativeAnnex28-ThantThawKuang-MyanmarBookAidandPreservationFoundationAnnex29-VickyBowman-MyanmarCentreforResponsibleBusinessDuringthesevisits,LIRNEasialearntofanumberofissuesthatsurroundtheuseofICTsforthedisabled.Theneedtoresolveissuesinscreenreadingsoftwaretoproduceaworkabletext-to-speechenginefortheblindinMyanmarwasoneofthekeyissuesidentifiedduringthecourseofthisproject.Mr.DipendraManocha,whohadworkedextensivelyinsuchsituationsinothercountriessuchasIndia,wasinvitedtoMyanmarforthispurpose.Mr.ManochaandPiyushChanana,aresearcheratIITDelhiwereinMyanmarfrom13-18December2016.Mr.ManochamadeapresentationattheMyanmarDigitalRightsForumduringhisstay.ToresolveissueswiththeTTSengine,theyhadmeetingswith1. Rev.TheinLwin:GeneralSecretary,YangonChristianFellowshipfortheBlind,MyaThidaLwin,VicePrincipalYangonEducationCenterfortheBlindandMr.Bananan(whodemonstratedtheuseoftheexistingTTSengine)2.BenedictLaHkun,ProgrammeManagerofICT,MyanmarNationalAssociationoftheBlindAungNaingTun,MyanmarNationalAssociationoftheBlind(MNAB)3.MinMaung(BoBo),AungLwinOo

Followingthesemeetings,itwasidentifiedthatresolvingissuesine-Speak,anlightweightopensourceTTS,wouldbethelowhangingfruitinprovidingaccessibilitytotheblinddespiteitsroboticvoice.TheMNABwasworkingongettingtheMyanmarlanguageontoe-Speaksince2013,buthadhitmultipleroadblocks.

Table11:ProgresstowardsaworkableTTSengine

Problemtype Problem Intervention ProgressCommunicationsgap

MyanmarlanguagenotincludedineSpeakNGrepository

ConnectingwitheSpeak FilesinMyanmarlanguageuploaded.AssessmentsbeingmadebyeSpeak

Technologygap PunctuationmarksnotbeingrecognisedbyeSpeak

Connectingwithcoderswhohadworkedonsuchissuesinotherlanguages

FeedbackreceivedErrorsbeingrectified

Potentialunavailabilityofaccessiblecontentwasanotherkeyareaidentified:thiswasduetotheneedforwebsites/applicationstobeWCAG2.0complianttobereadbyscreenreadingsoftware.PreliminarystepsarebeingtakenwithMIDOtoconductanauditofallGovernmentwebsitestocheckiftheyareWCAG2.0compliant.ThefindingswouldthenbesynthesizedtocommunicateresultsofaudittopolicymakersMeetingswerealsoheldwiththepublisherofthe7Daynewspaper.ItwasrevealedthattheirwebsiteisnotWCAG2.0compliant.ItalsousestheZawgyifont,whichisnotUnicodecompatible.FollowingmeetingswithMr.Manocha,theMDofthenewspaperofferedtoshifttheirapplicationtoUnicodefont.

6. Impact TheresultsofLIRNEasia’sbaselinesurveyonICTusehasbeencommunicatedtopolicymakers,includingtheUnionDeputyMinister.LIRNEasiadatawasusedtotrackMyanmar’sprogressinICTsintheITU’sflagshipreportMeasuringInformationSociety2016,UNESCO’sAssessmentofMediaDevelopmentinMediareportandA4AI’s2015Affordabilityreport.OfficialsfromtheMinistryofTransportandCommunicationsinMyanmararequotingthefindingsfromthe2016.ItwasquotedbyUMyoSwe,DeputyDirectorGeneralofthePostandTelecommunicationsDepartmentataconsultativeworkshoponuniversalservicestrategy,designandimplementationheldinFebruary2017inYangon.

Thejointstudyonwomen’saccesstomobilephonesanddataserviceswasadirectresultofdisseminationofthebaselinesurveyfindings.Alargelistofpolicyrecommendationshasresultedfromthisstudy,targetedatimprovingwomen’saccessanddigitalskills.MeetingshavetakenplacewiththetelecommunicationsoperatorsontheresultsofthebaselinesurveyandonthevariousstepsthatcouldbetakentoenableICTusebythedisabled.ProgressisbeingmadebridgingcommunicationsandtechnologygapsintheMyanmarlanguageine-SpeakinanefforttobuildausableTTSengine.LIRNEasiainteracteddirectlywithpolicymakerswhenconductingthecoursesonSocialmediaandICTsforimprovedgovernance.Wehadtheopportunitytotrain20membersofUnionParliamentandnearly90membersofYangonRegionalParliamentontheissue.Legislationpertainingtothecoursematerialwillbetracked.LIRNEasiahasalsoprovidedinputintothedraftingofnewpoliciesandguidelinesbyparticipatinginpublicconsultationprocesses.(Annexures21to24)TheTelecommunicationsMasterplanisyettobepublished,anditwillhavetobeanalyzedtoknowtherealimpactofLIRNEasiaandMIDO’sinput.TheadoptionofspectrumpolicyinMyanmarhasbeenpostponedfollowingthesubmissionofresponsestotheconsultationpaper.

TrainingMIDOonresearchandresearchmethodsyieldedresultsbyPhyuPhyuThibeingreceivingagrantfromtheUnderstandingMyanmarresearchprogrammefromChiangmaiUniversity,Thailand.

MIDOhasalsobeenextremelyactiveinthepolicyinterventionprocess.TheyactivelypartookinprovidingresponsestodraftpolicydocumentsandframeworksinthecountryfollowingitsengagementwithLIRNEasia,MIDOhasstartedpartakingactivelyininternationalconferences.InJuly2015,PhyuPhyuThisubmittedawrittendocumentthatwasdiscussedattheRegionalInternetGovernanceForuminMacau.YatanarHtunandHtaikeHtaikeAungparticipatedinapaneldiscussiononMyanmarattheStockholmInternetForuminSwedeninOctober2015.Inawide-ranginginterviewwiththeAustrianAcademicJournalASEAS,HtaikeHtaikeAungandPhyuPhyuThitalkaboutMIDOandhowtheyapproachpolicyproblemsintheICTspace.

Onabroadscale,oneofLIRNEasia’skeyobjectivewastoplayaroleinincreasingtheInternetsubscriptionsandusersper100toabovetheaverageofcomparatorcountries.ITUdataindicatesthatInternetuserper100numberswereatwereat0.18tenyearsagoin2006andbutstoodat2.1in2014.Thiscorrespondstotheresponsetoourquestioninthequantativestudycarriedoutin2015ontheuseoftheInternetthroughabrowseronanydeviceinthepast12months.However,thestudyalsoshowedthatusersaccessedtheinternet

viamobiledeviceswithoutknowledgeofaccess,particularlythroughapplicationssuchasFacebook.Itwasreportedthatthenumberofmobilebroadbandsubscriptionscominginto2015was8million17

17http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Myanmar-Burma-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Internet.html

7. Recommendations

WorkinginMyanmarcontinuestobeachallengeIn2015-16,allprojectactivitieswerepostponedbyoverninemonthsduetouncertaintiescreatedduetothegeneralelections.

TheprevalenceofonlinehatespeechhasbeenwidelydiscussedinMyanmar.Concernsonprivacyandsecurityhavealsobeenechoedinthepublicarena.However,thelackofdemandsizeresearchonthetopichasbeenobserved-LIRNEasiaisexploringthepossibilityofbridgingthisgap.Thetwo-daycourseonsocialmediaandICTsfore-governmentattheYangonregionalparliamentresultedinrequestsforasecondcourse.Wearehenceincontactwiththeregionalparliamentaryauthoritiesonafollow-upcourse.Meanwhile,thelackofindicatorsdepictinggrowthinMyanmar’sgrowthfromgovernmentwasobserved.LIRNEasiaismakingattemptstoorganizeacourseinNayPyiTawondevelopingindicatorsforMyanmar,contingentondemandfromtheMinistryofTransportandCommunications.