Ooredoo Myanmar, the third largest mobile operator in the country, named Alok Verma (pictured) as CCO, as it prepares for increased competition with new mobile players entering the market.

Vikram Sinha, Ooredoo Myanmar CEO, said: “Ooredoo is focused on becoming an integral part of people’s daily life by engaging with our customers on a human level. Part of this goal is to have the best team in Myanmar.”

Verma brings more than 14 years of telecoms experience with companies including Vodafone and Airtel in multiple roles, including CCO and business head across sales, marketing and customer service in India and Africa.

Ooredoo Myanmar had a 15 per cent share of the country’s mobile connections at end-December 2017, down from 18.6 per cent at end-2016, GSMA Intelligence (GSMAi) figures showed. It closed 2017 with 7.9 million connections compared to 9 million at end 2016: 4G connections accounted for 79 per cent of the recent total.

In February the company said it had expanded 4G coverage to 200 localities or two-thirds of the country’s townships. GSMAi figures place the operator as the 4G leader in Myanmar with an 81 per cent share of LTE connections.

Ooredoo and its rivals, Telenor Myanmar and state-owned MPT, are facing increased competition as fourth mobile player MyTel and Amara Communications, which acquired 4G spectrum in late 2016, are in the process of launching commercial services.