Online Teaching In Myanmar

[MIS Master]

I am going to a conference held in Yangon in February for 2 weeks and need to conduct online classes while in Myanmar. My hotel indicates that it offers free wi-fi (in a public area). Can someone please let me know whether the broadband connections are reliable enough for me to do this? Are there places that rent business centers (by the hour) or offices with good broadband connectivity where I can conduct these classes with a hard connection (or wi-fi via my own laptop), if so who, what where and how much. Are there any other unforeseen issues that I may face conducting these classes?

[tombkk]

Last time I went (which is already a couple of weeks ago), the internet was not reliable. The first three days it worked without a problem, on the fourth day I couldn't connect. So I went to the reception after a few hours, and they said it's true, it doesn't work - that was all. When I asked further, they told me that it sometimes doesn't work for a few hours or a few days, that's just the way it is.

Anyway, I suggest you ask your hotel. Or the venue of the conference. Things are changing rapidly in Myanmar now, and maybe it is more reliable now.

[householder]

My personal connection is generally stable with the odd few minutes where the connection drops - obviously not ideal for live streaming. The hotel with the best/fastest internet in Yangon by a wide margin is Traders. Which hotel will you be at?

[MIS Master]

I am staying at the Excel Palace Hotel in Northern Yangon. Close to the a couple of Universities and the venue of the conference.

[householder]

I am staying at the Excel Palace Hotel in Northern Yangon. Close to the a couple of Universities and the venue of the conference.

Well if the wifi sucks it's only a 10 minute drive to Traders', subject to traffic.

[DagonKhan]

I think you're dreaming if you think you'll get a good enough connection for that!

[MIS Master]

ok, I'll look up the Trader and see how I go.

Thanks

[tombkk]

My personal connection is generally stable with the odd few minutes where the connection drops - obviously not ideal for live streaming. The hotel with the best/fastest internet in Yangon by a wide margin is Traders. Which hotel will you be at?

Funny thing though, the Traders is the hotel in which I had the experiences shared earlier in this thread.

[DagonKhan]

It's hit or miss, you can never tell from one day to the next what sort of speed you will get. I find certain websites really slow (like this one), whereas others load much faster, some never seem to load at all. They did 'un-throttle' it a few months ago and it was really really fast, that lasted about 2 days. They've got some sort of experiment going on (there was a thread about it on these forums) from what I gather.

[MIS Master]

Ok, Tombkk, looks like a trial and error thing with the Trader. The Hotel hosting the conference is the Sedona, does anyone have experience there or should I just contact them direct. I need to be prepared for 'best and worst' case. Also am interested in the 'development of the Internet in Myanmar (Burma)'. I have a book about 'The History of the Internet in Thailand' but have not found anything about Myanmar (Burma), is there such a book or is someone in the process of writing such a book (if the latter please PM me).

[tombkk]

The Sedona is certainly a good hotel, so you'll probably get the best there is. As mentioned, this doesn't necessarily mean that Internet is up 24/7.

I don't think there is a book about the development of the internet in Myanmar, there would have to be too much classified material in it. However, if you find such a book, let us know. Otherwise, it might be up to you to write it.

[DagonKhan]

I don't think there is a book about the development of the internet in Myanmar, there would have to be too much classified material in it. However, if you find such a book, let us know. Otherwise, it might be up to you to write it.

Mid to late 90's it was Eagle, run by Pat James with Shaun Hurley, Brian et al. but email only.

Then MPT launched an intranet or whatever they call it, late nineties/early 2000's as I recall. Then in the early 2000's it was Bagan Cybertech with Ye Naing Win, soon followed by a similar service from MPT. Dial up in the beginning and then ADSL followed by wi-fi. Later Bagan Cybertech changed name to Myanmar Teleport and they're now called Yatarnapon Teleport (or something like that). Service has always been crap. Redline (by crony Tay Za) came along 2-3 years ago with a wi-fi service. Last year MPT allowed 10,000 subscribers internet access through their mobile phones which they expanded to 10,000 CDMA phones I believe. Service is still crap. And last but not least.... service is still crap. Costs have reduced a little now, originally I paid something like US$1,500 for my connection, plus a couple of hundred for modem as I recall as well as $60/yr in annual fees plus $35/month.

Why anybody would want to write a book about that I have no idea. If you do, title it "Service is crap". I waive all copyright to that title.

Edited January 15, 2013 by DagonKhan

[householder]

I don't think there is a book about the development of the internet in Myanmar, there would have to be too much classified material in it. However, if you find such a book, let us know. Otherwise, it might be up to you to write it.

Mid to late 90's it was Eagle, run by Pat James with Shaun Hurley, Brian et al. but email only.

Then MPT launched an intranet or whatever they call it, late nineties/early 2000's as I recall. Then in the early 2000's it was Bagan Cybertech with Ye Naing Win, soon followed by a similar service from MPT. Dial up in the beginning and then ADSL followed by wi-fi. Later Bagan Cybertech changed name to Myanmar Teleport and they're now called Yatarnapon Teleport (or something like that). Service has always been crap. Redline (by crony Tay Za) came along 2-3 years ago with a wi-fi service. Last year MPT allowed 10,000 subscribers internet access through their mobile phones which they expanded to 10,000 CDMA phones I believe. Service is still crap. And last but not least.... service is still crap. Costs have reduced a little now, originally I paid something like US$1,500 for my connection, plus a couple of hundred for modem as I recall as well as $60/yr in annual fees plus $35/month.

Why anybody would want to write a book about that I have no idea. If you do, title it "Service is crap". I waive all copyright to that title.

RedLink is Shwe Mann's sons, isn't it?

Service is crap here generally for most things - try getting a refund in a store for any reason whatseover or even asking staff to do something as alien as calling another store in their chain to see if they stock a product. The receipts are only useful to ensure your purchased items haven't been double counted and the arithmetic is right. Quaint when you're a tourist but a pain when you live here. Since most stores are stupidly overstaffed you'll either be utterly ignored or have three people stand over you whilst you browse without saying anything to you.

Hence why they're not opening to foreign competition too quickly - various 'we're not/the infrastructure is not ready for foreign competition yet' arguments really mean 'even minimal service standards from foreign competitors will completely ruin the hugely profitable monopolies we enjoy'. Good example: I hit my internet quota and wanted to purchase additional bandwidth. Despite RedLink having online support where you can login with a unique ID and password to get your account information, and the process of upgrading bandwidth being a few keystrokes on a computer, you can't do it by internet or even telephone. You have to physically attend one of only 2 or 3 showrooms, produce identification etc. and wait while they do it then execute a formal document confirming the same. Can't work out whether it's a remnant of regime paranoia or just poor service standards.

Oh forgot to add - it's free to upgrade your account (obviously) but a $30 charge to downgrade...

Read an article somewhere that several local companies had invested huge amounts in network technologies, only for them to lose everything when the operator license was handed to a crony company; something along those lines. Will try and dig it out.

Edited January 15, 2013 by householder

[MIS Master]

This is sounding more and more like Thailand in the late 80's early 90's. While I hear the complaints I don't hear anyone to upset to actually want to leave... frontier spirits here? So really it's the same challenges of all developing countries...will have to look into the 'why' question...this is going to be an interesting challenge.

Really would like any artiles if you can find them.

Thanks again

[householder]

This is sounding more and more like Thailand in the late 80's early 90's. While I hear the complaints I don't hear anyone to upset to actually want to leave... frontier spirits here? So really it's the same challenges of all developing countries...will have to look into the 'why' question...this is going to be an interesting challenge.

Really would like any artiles if you can find them.

Thanks again

Frontier spirits and good money to be made... plus for the most people one's efforts are genuinely appreciated here!

Edited January 15, 2013 by householder

[DagonKhan]

RedLink is Shwe Mann's sons, isn't it?

Tay Za is the front man, most businesses like this have a crony as a front man and their wives, sons, daughters as shareholders. They get all the licences they need and a healthy share of the profits. Could Shwe Mann's sons be involved? Yes, but as many businesses as I've heard them connected to, Redlink isn't one of them.

Read an article somewhere that several local companies had invested huge amounts in network technologies, only for them to lose everything when the operator license was handed to a crony company; something along those lines. Will try and dig it out.

I can think of numerous examples of local companies going after very lucrative government contracts and spending considerable money developing their ideas, but spending more on under the table bribes, only to see the contract awarded to a crony who they didn't even realise was in the running.

It happens daily. It's just far more expensive nowadays as there's plenty more gullible foreign business people around.

[MIS Master]

Is it possible to buy mobile sim cards and broadband sim, or must you purchase landline, or do they sell wifi as mobile broadband. Can anyone help with costs? In otherwords do I bring my 3G mobile or 4G mobile broadband, or is it just a waste of luggage space?

[SeaVisionBurma]

Read an article somewhere that several local companies had invested huge amounts in network technologies, only for them to lose everything when the operator license was handed to a crony company; something along those lines. Will try and dig it out.

Please post link if you can find that article - cheers.

[CP3]

RedLink is Shwe Mann's sons, isn't it?

Tay Za is the front man, most businesses like this have a crony as a front man and their wives, sons, daughters as shareholders. They get all the licences they need and a healthy share of the profits. Could Shwe Mann's sons be involved? Yes, but as many businesses as I've heard them connected to, Redlink isn't one of them.

Read an article somewhere that several local companies had invested huge amounts in network technologies, only for them to lose everything when the operator license was handed to a crony company; something along those lines. Will try and dig it out.

I can think of numerous examples of local companies going after very lucrative government contracts and spending considerable money developing their ideas, but spending more on under the table bribes, only to see the contract awarded to a crony who they didn't even realise was in the running.

It happens daily. It's just far more expensive nowadays as there's plenty more gullible foreign business people around.

Redlink is owned by Sons of Shwe Mann..not Tay Za. Tay Za operates Elite

[CP3]

Is it possible to buy mobile sim cards and broadband sim, or must you purchase landline, or do they sell wifi as mobile broadband. Can anyone help with costs? In otherwords do I bring my 3G mobile or 4G mobile broadband, or is it just a waste of luggage space?

If you want to use it for your online class, you can forget about it. Just head to Trader or Castle internet shops

[MIS Master]

Read an article somewhere that several local companies had invested huge amounts in network technologies, only for them to lose everything when the operator license was handed to a crony company; something along those lines. Will try and dig it out.

Please post link if you can find that article - cheers.

I am also interested in any articles found. Please post here.

[DagonKhan]

Redlink is owned by Sons of Shwe Mann..not Tay Za. Tay Za operates Elite

You're correct CP3, my mistake.