SIM Server

The Asian country of Burma, also known as Myanmar, has come a long way in the past couple of years since it dissolved the military junta that had been running it and began embracing democracy. This includes establishment of the country's National Human Rights Commission, the institution of new labor laws and reduction in press censorship. Despite these radical changes, however, the country still has a long way to go.

Interestingly, Myanmar's overall progress is closely mirrored by that of its telecommunications industry, making the cost of a SIM card a relatively accurate measure of the country's advancement.

For example, the price of a SIM card in Myanmar in 2001, during the worst of the country's crackdowns, was about $3,000 — a price which came down considerably around the time of Myanmar's first democratic election in 2011. Still, according to digital news outlet Quartz, the price of a SIM card likely won't hit zero until sometime next year.

Meanwhile, over the past year, Myanmar has been working to ensure that its cellular coverage is able to keep up with the influx of mobile customers sure to pop up as SIM prices drop. Indeed, while the country's current mobile infrastructure covers a mere nine percent of its population, President Thein Sein is determined to reach 80 percent mobile penetration by 2015, an election year.

A major part of this plan is the dismantling of Myanmar's government-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT) infrastructure, which will be replaced with infrastructure constructed by a private companies. MPT will be reformed as a privately funded company and renamed Myanmar Telecom, while the semi-official Yatanarpon Teleport will be merged into a new company. Two other private operators will also be allowed to provide telecom services in the country.

Back in March 2011, while the country was still ruled by military junta, all private Internet cafes were ordered to stop using VoIP. This is likely to be undone as Myanmar works on reforming its telecommunications.