Publication: Digital and Telecom: Myanmar Infrastructure Monitoring
Loading...
Date
2022-03-31
ISSN
Published
2022-03-31
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Myanmar has experienced a series of total and partial internet shutdowns since the military coup in February 2021. These restrictions have varied in intensity across the country and over time, ranging from the complete shutdown of all wireless broadband services and nightly shutdowns of fixed line services between February and April 2021, followed by limited access to a whitelist of websites and services and intermittent subnational shutdowns starting in May 2021. The restrictions on internet access have had a profound impact on investments in the sector, subsequently affecting the growth of digital infrastructure and digitally enabled services in Myanmar. Internet restrictions have also had important implications on household welfare, firm operations, and growth of the digital economy in Myanmar. New regulations, market exit by private sector providers, and continued internet restrictions threaten to reverse the progress made over the last decade. Continued internet restrictions can lead to further restraint of online economic activity and closure of many young digital start-ups that rely on consistent, reliable, and widespread internet adoption to reach markets.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2022. Digital and Telecom: Myanmar Infrastructure Monitoring. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37427 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Telecommunications is Dead, Long Live Networking : The Effect of the Information Revolution on the Telecom Industry(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1997-07)The author looks at how the drivers of the information revolution are transforming the structure of the telecommunications industry. The end of natural monopoly, the breakdown of the old pricing mechanisms, the increasing competition from new operators and new products, and the globalization of the industry are forcing radical change. This spells trouble for incumbent telecommunications operators -most of whose assets are holes in the ground. Many incumbents are responding by forming global alliances. But this trend may have more to do with their desire to recreate in international markets the oligarchies they are used to at home than with the underlying market forces. Where is the industry heading? One view of the future sees transmission capacity and bandwidth becoming tradable commodities, with the industry fragmenting into wholesalers investing in capacity, brokers intermediating supply and demand for capacity, and retailers dealing with the consumer.Publication Digital Government 2020(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04)Governments around the world are facing a double challenge. Their citizens are expecting everhigher standards of service and want to be able to interact with the government online as easily as they do with banks and Internet commerce companies. At the same time, governments need to reduce administrative costs and increase program effectiveness. For many years, “e-Government” has been a major contributor to meeting these challenges. In recent years Russia has made good progress on its existing e-Government strategy for providing digital services in parallel with other channels. To assist the Government of the Russian Federation with its plans to develop and launch a project that will be designed to address these issues and move the country towards a Digital Government, this report from the World Bank team sets out high level recommendations that are tailored to the needs of Russia, and that are in line with the best international practices. The analysis shows that the situation with the monitoring of e-Government development in the Russian Federation as a whole is not bad. There are large amounts of data on various aspects of using ICT for public administration and local self-government. Most of measurable indicators used in Russia, as in many other countries, relate to assessments of the level of e-Readiness of the country, and of particular regions or industries. To conclude, for Russia, as well as for other countries, there is a challenge to create a new system of monitoring for the use of ICT for public administration in the context of proper Digital Government maturity models.Publication Fostering a Digitally Inclusive Aging Society in China : The Potential of Public Libraries(Washington, DC, 2014-07-08)The World Bank has been supporting this policythrough theprogram China Rural Information and Communications: Technical Assistance on Design and Impact Evaluation, which aims to support the government make decisions about potential scaling up of innovative ICT pilot projects and to generate and disseminate knowledge about the impacts of ICT in rural China. Three activities were undertakenwith a focus on a trio of provinces (Guizhou, Jilin, and Shandong): (a) a demand survey to assess rural ICT access and attitudes; (b) a library study including scoping the status of ICT use in rural libraries; and (c) a limited impact evaluation to examine how ICT interventions have affected rural users.Publication Transforming Telecoms in Afghanistan : Expanding Affordable Access by Introducing Competition(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-04)Afghanistan has transformed its telecommunications from a fragmented system serving few people to a modern one putting Afghans in touch with one another and with the global economy. The government moved quickly to approve a Telecommunications and Internet Policy in 2003, and identified telecommunications as one of the two lead sectors for attracting private and foreign investment. The experience in Afghanistan shows that wireless communications can play a critical role as the primary telecommunications infrastructure in a post-conflict country. The key factors in Afghanistan's success in developing its telecommunications sector have been strong government commitment, a pro-competitive reform agenda, early focus on regulatory reforms and capacity building, and a transparent bidding process.Publication Do Digital Technologies Facilitate Illicit Financial Flows?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-01)The emerging concept of illicit financial flows has become a crosscutting issue on the international agenda in recent years. This umbrella term refers to money illegally earned, transferred, or used. With the development of digital technologies, the use of information and communications networks as a tool for facilitating illicit financial flows is rising as one of the key challenges in tackling the problem of the movement of illegal funds. Digital technologies facilitate illicit financial flows at each stage, be it earning money illegally, transferring illegal funds, or using them. There are several areas where clear links between technology and illicit financial flows can be established. Part one defines illicit financial flows to establish the scope of the problem and provide the context for further analysis. Part two focuses on the issue of digital technologies in the process of earning money illegally and transferring illicit funds, and analyzes how technology can help in the process of acquisition, transfers, and integration of illicit finds. Part three discusses the role of technology in fighting illicit financial flows. Part four concludes with suggestions for further areas of research in this field and ways to tackle the problem more effectively.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.