A lack of telephone signal is causing disruptions to services such as health, education and social welfare in Mong Kung Township, said Sai Seng Murng, an MP representing the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, speaking in parliament on Wednesday.

He added that this “barrier” was resulting in huge problems for residents, and was hurting the local economy.

Situated 100 kilometres east of Mandalay, the town of Mong Kung has a population of over 61,000. It is located at a high altitude of 1,095 m (3,593 ft) and is surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it difficult for radio, television and mobile phone reception.

State-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications currently provides relay stations for mobile phone signals to 21 towns in southern Shan State.

Of the two international firms with telecoms licenses in Burma, Norwegian company Telenor provides a GSM service to 192 ports, while Qatar-based Ooredoo covers 81. However, because of its terrain, Mong Kung Township only receives signals on CDMA-450 MHz; its GSM service is still in process.

MP Sai Seng Murng said yesterday that Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Htant Zin Maung understood the difficulties facing people in Mong Kung.

He said that the minister had promised to try to solve the problem. He also said that, within the next five years, towns along the border or in rural areas will also have working mobile phone signals.

“In the past, no one talked about Mong Kung. No one knew where it was,” said Sai Seng Murng. “Now that I have raised this issue, people across the country will know about it.”

A proposal to debate the lack of telecoms services in Mong Kung was submitted to the lower house on August 29, and tabled at the parliamentary session on September 28.

BY- Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)