U Khin Maung Nyo, editor-in-chief of the Khit Lunge website, poses in his office at the Myanmar Info-tech compound in Hlaing township, Yangon, on June 6. U Khin Maung Nyo revealed plans to establish a major new player in Myanmar’s information technology sector – Information Technology Central Service (ITCS), which will group a number of private companies and challenge the more established Myanmar Info-tech consortium. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

THE government has approved the formation of a new ICT consortium similar to Myanmar Info-Tech, according to an industry insider with links to the government-aligned USDA.

U Khin Maung Nyo, who runs the youth-oriented Khit Lunge website, which was launched by the Union Solidarity and Development Association in March, said the consortium would be named Information Technology Central Services (ITCS) but that it was still in the early stages of formation.

The group would comprise private sector companies and be involved in internet activities and software development, U Khin Maung Nyo said.

Significantly, ITCS would become the country’s third internet service provider, he added, alongside state-run Myanma Posts and Telecommunication (MPT) and the private sector's Myanmar Teleport, which has not provided any new connections since 2004.

One of ICTS’s first duties will be taking over the www.khitlunge.com.mm site, which is currently being funded by the USDA, U Khin Maung Nyo said.

ITCS is to operate in competition with Myanmar Info-tech, another consortium of private IT companies which was set up in 2001 to handle “e-government” projects.

But unlike Myanmar Info-tech, ITCS is to be an openly commercial venture with an emphasis on generating profits.

U Khin Maung Nyo did not give a timeframe for the establishment of ITCS or reveal what his role would be in the new consortium, but he said the grouping would be “materialised soon”.

Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Communications Brig-Gen Thein Zaw approved the consortium last month but the next steps of its formation are still under negotiation, U Khin Maung Nyo said.

“It will be managed and operated by a board of directors. There will be many types of subsidiary companies under its umbrella for specific purposes, such as software development or internet services.

“Existing companies from the ICT industry will probably join the consortium,” said U Khin Maung Nyo, noting that new companies were also likely to be formed to cater for gaps in service provision, such as internet connections.

“ITCS will be much like the existing Myanmar Info-Tech in its organisational structure. But it will play a more dynamic role in the industry,” he said.
The identity of the board of directors and the consortium’s basic principles for profit sharing are yet to be determined.

The Yadanabon project – Myanmar’s “Silicon Valley” – is a special economic zone for IT development being built over 4050 hectares near Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Division. It is aimed at attracting foreign invest-ment and is expected to be formally launched late this year, U Khin Maung Nyo said.

ITCS is to play an important role in the management at Yadanabon, he added without providing details.

The location of the consortium’s head office is still to be decided.
Despite the group’s early stage of formation, ITCS is already working on five services that have never before been available in Myanmar: voice mailboxes; videophone provision; online ticket reservations, including for bus and train trips; online certificates for university graduates; and online notification of matriculation exam results.

U Khin Maung Nyo said Brig-Gen Thein Zaw had already approved work in these fields, which are likely to have a widespread impact on Myanmar people's use of IT services in daily life.