State-owned MPT, the largest mobile operator in Myanmar, is using 4×4 multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology in its new LTE-Advanced network to deliver peak download speeds of 150Mb/s in parts of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay.

The operator said it will extend its 4G network to five additional cities by end-July and to more than 20 other cities by November, taking its LTE coverage to the country’s 30 main cities, the Myanmar Times reported.

MPT launched commercial 4G service in May in the country’s three major cities a week after acquiring additional spectrum from the government.

The operator with a 44 per cent market share, said its network reaches 98 per cent of the country’s population, but it only offers 4G service in parts of the three main cities. It now plans to expand 4G coverage nationwide in partnership with Japan-based operator KDDI.

In May Myanmar’s Post and Telecommunications Department (PTD) allocated 2x40MHz of technology neutral spectrum in the 1.8GHz band to the country’s four mobile operators.

Telenor Myanmar, the second largest mobile operator in the country with a 37 per cent market share, over the past year launched 4G service in 19 cities and towns using existing spectrum. Lars Erik Tellmann, CEO of Telenor Myanmar, said it is rolling out LTE service using the new 1.8GHz spectrum and plans to expand service to more cities and towns in the coming months, including Yangon.

Ooredoo Myanmar, the country’s third largest operator, but 4G leader, said in June it was picking up the pace of its 4G rollout, with plans to expand coverage to additional cities. The operator said it was upgrading its sites to boost speeds after acquiring the new spectrum. More than half of its 9.3 million mobile subscribers are on 4G plans compared with 2 per cent for Telenor.

In early January Myanmar officially awarded the country’s fourth mobile licence to a venture between Vietnam’s Viettel and a consortium of local companies operating under the name Myanmar National Tele & Communications (MNTC), which will operate under the Mytel name.