Editing Telecommunications in Myanmar (section)

==Internet==
{{main|Internet in Burma}}
The government allowed unrestricted access to the [[Internet]] for some years following the telecoms liberalization. Many people were using the internet freely, often with widely available smart phones.

Myanmar Teleport<ref>[http://www.yatanarpon.net.mm/aboutus.html "Company at a glance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916170858/http://www.yatanarpon.net.mm/aboutus.html |date=16 September 2011 }}, Yatanarpon Teleport Co., Ltd.</ref> (formerly Bagan Cybertech), Information Technology Central Services (ITCS),<ref>[http://www.mmtimes.com/no370/b001.htm "New consortium to shake up IT sector"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705131006/http://www.mmtimes.com/no370/b001.htm |date=5 July 2011 }}, Ye Kaung Myint Maung, Myanmar Times, vol.19, no.370 (11–17 June 2007)</ref> and the state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT)<ref>[http://www.mpt.net.mm/mpt/it/index.htm "Internet Services Tariff"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721093256/http://www.mpt.net.mm/mpt/it/index.htm |date=21 July 2011 }}, Information Technology department, Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs. Retrieved 10 June 2011</ref> are two of the [[Internet service provider]]s in Myanmar.<ref>[http://www.guideformyanmar.com/internet.html "Myanmar Internet Provider"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120910222703/http://www.guideformyanmar.com/internet.html |date=10 September 2012 }}, Guide for Myanmar 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1679-internet-service-hampered-as-myanmar-teleport-server-breaks-down.html "Internet service hampered as Myanmar Teleport server breaks down"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119134116/http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1679-internet-service-hampered-as-myanmar-teleport-server-breaks-down.html |date=19 January 2011 }}, Mizzima News Agency, 10 February 2009</ref> [[Internet café]]s are common in the larger cities of the country. Satellite ([[VSAT]]) internet connection is also available from [[Sky Net|Skynet]], a satellite television provider, and another ([[VSAT]]) Operator [[Com & Com]].

According to MPT's official statistics as of July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users (0.8% of the population) with the vast majority of the users located in the two largest cities, [[Yangon]] and [[Mandalay]].<ref name=bw>{{cite journal | title=State of Internet Usage in Myanmar | journal=Bi-Weekly Eleven | language=my | date=30 July 2010 | volume=3 | issue=18 | location=Yangon | author=Wai-Yan Phyo Oo and Saw Pyayzon | pages=1–2}}</ref>  More recent figures are hard to find, but the widespread use of smart phones and tablets with cellular modems on the 3G and 4G networks means that internet usage is likely to be far higher than the figures from 2010 indicate.

Although the internet appears largely unrestricted, Myanmar experience internet shut downs during politically sensitive times. In 2007, the military government shutdown the internet during the Saffron Revolution for a few days to restrict information from within the country to be disseminated to international media. In 2019 June to February 2020, a few townships from [[Rakhine State|Rakkhine]] and [[Chin State|Chin]] State are facing internet shut downs as ordered by the [[Ministry of Transport and Communications (Myanmar)|Ministry of Transport and Communications]].

On 3 February 2021, 3G and 4G data network was restored in Rakhine and Chin States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Directives from authorities in Myanmar - February 2021|url=https://www.telenor.com/sustainability/responsible-business/human-rights/mitigate/human-rights-in-myanmar/directives-from-authorities-in-myanmar-february-2021/|access-date=2021-02-25|website=Telenor Group|language=en}}</ref>

Starting from dawn of 1 February 2021, there're re-restrictions and outage to access to the internet by the [[State Administration Council|Military Government]] because of [[2021 Myanmar coup d'état]]. The government banned and blocked social media, including [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], [[Instagram]] and [[WhatsApp]], western news agency websites and also Wikipedia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-01-31|title=Internet disrupted in Myanmar amid apparent military uprising|url=https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disrupted-in-myanmar-amid-apparent-military-uprising-JBZrmlB6|access-date=2021-02-25|website=NetBlocks|language=en-US}}</ref>

Starting from 16 February 2021, the internet was shut down from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. in nationwide.<ref name=":0" />

On 22 February 2021, the internet was shut down only in Yangon from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m. while other states and regions were only from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m.<ref name=":0" />