Mobile coverage

As of today, much of the country enjoys mobile coverage, and relatively high-speed 4G access. In previous years, only CDMA frequencies were available in major towns on the periphery. The construction of mobile towers around the country has improved reception, with 4G available in most towns.

More remote and sparsely populated areas remain off the grid (for example, swathes of mountainous and rugged Chin State or Sagaing and Nagaland), however much of the country is now online. The number of towers rose from 3,000 in 2013 to 11,700 in 2018. In the northern Rakhine State and in some of the areas bordering China, mobile phone services are available from neighbouring countries.

In late 2018, Rohingya rights group Kaladan Press alleged that Telenor mobile phone towers had been used as sniping positions in the ethnic cleansing of Alehthankyaw, with troops gunning down fleeing civilians from the vantage point afforded them by the structure. Telenor expressed concern over the allegations, and said that their access to the site had been limited, both due to internal security assessments and government restrictions.