Ais Mobile Phone In Yangon

[pj123]

I will be in Yangon for 2 days next week. AIS said my mobile will work but I would welcome assurance from anyone who has used their Thai mobile in that part of Myanmar.

[Halfaboy]

Last time I was there, March 2012, my mobile phone (DTAC subscription) was not working. Maybe things have changed in the mean time.

[tombkk]

Last time I was there (about Q3/2012), my AIS phone sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.

This was an improvement over previous trips, where it mostly didn't work (even though AIS had insured me it would).

Things are improving in Myanmar at a constant basis. Please let us know your latest experiences.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Just there recently and my AIS mobile didn't work

Sent from my ALCATEL_one_touch_918D

[simon43]

AFAIK, the only roaming agreements to date are with a Chinese and a Vietnamese mobile network.

Therefore, I'd say your chances of roaming from AIS is tending towards zero.....

But I wil be happy if you can prove me wrong - just don't let my Thai wife know that she can call me here

Simon

[pj123]

Thank you for the replies. I will report back next week.

[tombkk]

Thank you for the replies. I will report back next week.

That will be appreciated.

[simon43]

BTW, if u wonder why I don't know if roaming from the Thai network works or not in Myanmar, (since my home, wife and business are in Thailand), it's because I do not possess a mobile phone

Bliss!

[tombkk]

BTW, if u wonder why I don't know if roaming from the Thai network works or not in Myanmar, (since my home, wife and business are in Thailand), it's because I do not possess a mobile phone

Bliss!

Thank you for your valuable contribution. This has been a great help in answering the OP's question.

[pj123]

Just got back from Yangon. Mobile did not work anywhere in the city. When I did a network search, the only network my phone found was, if I recall, MM 900.

I tried calling local landline numbers and a mobile in Thailand. The phone rings but no answer. My wife tried to call me from Thailand, the mobile rang but when I picked-up there was no sound.

SMS does not work. Which is funny as I did receive a single SMS from AIS advising me on their roaming service.

Next time, I will rent a sim at the airport.

[tombkk]

Just got back from Yangon. Mobile did not work anywhere in the city. When I did a network search, the only network my phone found was, if I recall, MM 900.

I tried calling local landline numbers and a mobile in Thailand. The phone rings but no answer. My wife tried to call me from Thailand, the mobile rang but when I picked-up there was no sound.

SMS does not work. Which is funny as I did receive a single SMS from AIS advising me on their roaming service.

Next time, I will rent a sim at the airport.

Thanks for the update. I think things will change for the better over the next couple of months leading up to the SEA Games, let's keep each others informed.

[tai4de2]

Here's what my phone captured in a network scan in December.

[SeaVisionBurma]

My wife tried to call me from Thailand, the mobile rang but when I picked-up there was no sound.

SMS does not work. Which is funny as I did receive a single SMS from AIS advising me on their roaming service.

Interesting - the sms from AIS, and the fact that your mobile rang when your wife tried to call you from Thailand - suggest that AIS is able to roam there. Might have been worth trying to take the call a few more times - TBH even local sims in Myanmar struggle to get a connection and it often takes several tries to get a call working.

[tombkk]

OK, I got daily SMS messages at the end of January, saying that I need to exchange my SIM card. I am in Thailand, using Mfone's international roaming. My staff in Cambodia called and was assured (despite the ads saying otherwise) that I can continue using my Mfone SIM card without problems.

Came 01 Feb, and there is no international roaming on the Mfone card any more. They ask now me to send the SIM card by mail, so they can exchange it for a new one (with the same number). In the meantime, I can't be reached on my Cambodian number while in Thailand.

Why am I not surprised?

[Tomtomtom69]

AIS roaming works in Myanmar - for me it's always MPT (Myanmar Post and Telecom) both in Myawaddy and Yangon. I didn't try to use my AIS SIM in Myanmar, just noticed it does pick up a signal and although I tried calling a Thai number, which gave a ring tone, I didn't follow through on the call as I already intended on purchasing a local SIM. Thus, after my first night in Yangon I decided to purchase a local SIM card, since it's much cheaper than roaming. A local SIM, which allows you to call overseas costs about 19,000 Kyat.

[hyperdimension]

What is the situation with SIM cards now?

Does 3G work there if you put the local SIM into a Thai phone? I have the i-Mobile IQ6A.

I'm concerned that the 3G system in Myanmar is different from the 3G system in Thailand, so wouldn't want to buy a local SIM only to find out afterwards that I can't use 3G.

[Tomtomtom69]

What is the situation with SIM cards now?

Does 3G work there if you put the local SIM into a Thai phone? I have the i-Mobile IQ6A.

I'm concerned that the 3G system in Myanmar is different from the 3G system in Thailand, so wouldn't want to buy a local SIM only to find out afterwards that I can't use 3G.

No idea about whether 3G works in Myanmar so if i were you, I'd be happy that you can even find a place to buy a local SIM, which is doable in Yangon but very difficult everywhere else - they don't even sell them in mobile phone shops, go figure.

Basically the situation is much the same as for the past year or two - the cheapest SIM cards generally available cost about 19000 Kyat and are supposedly "single use" meaning they expire after a certain period of time and can't be renewed, although recharging within the validity period is fine. The other options are a $200-250 "permanent" SIM card that can be renewed and refilled at will, prior to the expiry date, thus allowing an extension of validity. I'm not sure about the $50 SIM card available for purchase at Yangon airport, but for most visitors, this will likely be the easiest option.

BTW on my last trip to Myanmar I was able to send and receive international text messages on AIS roaming and this was in Yangon, so AIS roaming DOES work, at least it did when I was in Myanmar back in April and in February.

[hyperdimension]

I was in Yangon recently and managed to get a SIM card with 3G data access. It was one of the 1500 kyat SIMs that the locals win in the lottery style draws, and it was re-sold for 60k kyats. It costs 4 kyats per minute of data usage. I was told that you need to use 2500 kyats worth per month in order to keep the account alive.

The SIM card didn't work in my Thai phone (i-Mobile IQ6) so I got a Huawei phone just to use in Myanmar.

The internet access was painfully slow (partly due to the damaged cable last week), but at least I could get internet access everywhere in the city (i.e. better than nothing).

[anto]

My DTAC sim did not work there a week ago .