Phone users in Myanmar say they feel betrayed by Norwegian telecoms company Telenor, which announced earlier this month that it was selling its local operations to a company with ties to the military junta.
Telenor, which before the sale enjoyed widespread praise for its transparency and vocal opposition to restrictions on digital rights, agreed a $105m sale with M1 Group, which was founded by billionaire Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s former prime minister.
M1 has been listed on Burma Campaign UK’s “Dirty List” of companies with ties to the military since August 2019 because it is a major shareholder in Irrawaddy Green Towers, which leases phone towers for the military-owned Mytel.
According to an Irrawaddy Green Towers statement released on July 24, the company has to share towers with Mytel under Myanmar laws and regulations. “If Mytel wanted to put its equipment on a tower built for any of the other operators then it is permitted to do so.”
“Telenor appeared to be completely against the military’s oppression,” one customer based in Yangon told Myanmar Now. “So we felt safe using Telenor. Now that they’ve sold the company to M1 Group, it feels as if they’re on the military’s side as well.”
Since the sale he and many others are worried it will become easier for the military to spy on them, he added.
Telenor openly opposed the junta’s plans to enact a draconian cyber security law after the February 1 coup. But while many users regarded Telenor as safer than military-run competitors MPT and Mytel, Telenor was still subject to a 2013 communications law widely criticised by digital privacy activists.
The Norwegian company therefore did not have autonomy in Myanmar, an IT technician who requested not to be named told Myanmar Now. “To be honest, the operators still do not have control over the companies… almost everything is controlled by this law,” he said.
Oliver Spencer, of the digital rights group Free Expression Myanmar, said the fact that M1 Group has worked in conflict-ridden authoritarian countries, plagued by digital rights violations, suggests it has lower standards than Telenor.
Telenor’s departure from the country does not relieve it of its responsibility to subscribers, he added.
“Sixteen million people placed their trust in Telenor to defend their digital rights. Any sale must be conditioned on the new owners fulfilling that trust,” he said.
A Telenor executive told employees about the sale at an online meeting the day after it happened, said a staff member who has worked for the company since it started its operations in Myanmar seven years ago.
The transfer process could take three to six months and Telenor will likely to manage the company until the end of 2021, he said.
“There could be some changes in the organisational structure because of the change of owner,” he added. “But most of the staff were told that the rest of the operations will be the same as usual.”
Many staff will find it challenging to work under a new owner as they have become used to serving a company known for its advocacy in human rights, digital rights and transparency, he added.
Telenor provided health insurance and also planned to vaccinate its staff against the flu and Covid-19.
“It really saddens me that a company that actually cares about its employees is leaving. I don’t want to comment on them selling the company to someone else as everyone has their own reasons,” the employee said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Irrawaddy Green Towers builds towers for Mytel. This has been corrected to state that Irrawaddy Green Towers leases towers to Mytel. A response from Irrawaddy Green Towers has also been added to the article after they released a statement.
