Every few months new rules for internet cafes are announced and are promptly ignored by cafe owners. Anyone who visits enough cafes in Yangon / Rangoon knows how eager most cafe owners are to allow access to blocked sites.

Looks like the new internet service provider has Chinese built-in blocking.

[him] moderator

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Rules for registered internet cafés announced
Kyaw Zin Htun

MYANMAR Info-Tech Corporation Ltd, the sole licence provider for government- recognised internet cafés, has announced plans to impose strict rules on internet cafés registered with the company.

U Sein Win, the corporation’s general manager, said the company has already set 19 rules for licensed internet cafés. The cafés had promised to abide by these rules since applying for their licences, but the company had found some weaknesses in compliance.

“We’ve found that only about 20 percent of registered internet cafés fully abide by the rules imposed by the corporation,” he said.

The rules require registering user information – including taking a national registration card number, address and phone numbers, sending users’ web history to Myanmar Info-tech every two weeks and capturing a user screen shot every five minutes.

“Though some cafés abide by most of the rules, we’ve found that almost all have weaknesses in full compliance,” he said, adding that only few registered internet cafés send their users’ web history by compact disc.

He added that the company had not set detailed penalties for internet cafés breaking the rules, but planned to announce the penalties soon.

But one café owner said stricter rule enforcement would create problems for both owners and internet users, and could even backfire. The Yankin-based owner said full compliance would be inconvenient for users who preferred not to divulge identity information, and costly and time-consuming for owners. A crackdown could drive customers to use unlicensed internet cafés, where they were not asked to provide their personal details.

The company plans to hold a seminar with registered internet cafés to explain the rules and ensure compliance, he said, adding that café owners can present their difficulties at the seminar and the company would negotiate and implement according to their presentations.

After explaining the rules and setting penalties, the company will carry out spot checks and take action in the event of rule violations.

Myanmar Info-Tech was founded in 2001 as a consortium to implement national information and communications projects and became the sole licence provider for government-recognised internet cafés in 2005.

http://www.mmtimes.com/no419/n017.htm

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New ISP set for May launch date
Kyaw Zin Htun

A NEW internet service provider (ISP), to be launched at the end of May, is expected to help speed up internet use in Myanmar and to enable more secure communications. The Hanthawaddy ISP will become the largest in the country, said a spokesperson from the Information and Technology Department of Myanma Post and Telecommunications (MPT) last week.

The new ISP will provide internet services to subscribers from all states and divisions except Yangon, he said. Subscribers in Yangon will continue to be serviced by MPT’s own Mayangone ISP. But internet connections are expected to speed up once the new ISP is running.

“Alcatel Shanghai Bell Company acted as a technical consultant for this ISP, which represents an investment of about US$ 2.3 million,” said the spokesman, adding that the ISP would be located at the MPT’s own building near Hanthawaddy roundabout in Kamaryut township.

He said hardware installations for the new ISP were complete and work was proceeding on software installation.

“The main advantages of having this ISP is that the internet connection will be fast-moving, and good security will be available because of the website filtering system. We also expect mail services, provided by MPT, will be more convenient,” he said. The new ISP will be linked to Yadanarbon teleport in Mandalay, and also to a regional ISP in Hong Kong, which is connected to other international service providers.

“We will operate this ISP to international standards – including a network control system that can ensure better internet security,” he said.

http://www.mmtimes.com/no419/n019.htm