Mobile SIM Cards and Phone Rental Service at Yangon International Airport

Buying Mobile Phone SIM Card is easy

For many years SIM cards in Myanmar were expensive and difficult to obtain, but cards sold by the Telenor, Ooredoo and MPT (Myanmar Post & Telecommunications) networks are now generally available for a cheap K1,500. Cards work on a top-up basis, with K1000, K3000, K5000 and K10,000 cards available.

Ooredoo and Telenor became operational in 2014 and all networks offer fast 4G coverage in population centres such as Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. SIM cards and top-ups can be bought at numerous street-side retailers in downtown areas, as well as at Yangon and Mandalay international airports and in most larger towns, cities and tourist sites.

Shops selling cards usually display the Ooredoo, Telenor or MPT logos:

To purchase a SIM card, foreigners need to have photocopies of their passport photo page and Myanmar visa page, as well as one passport photo. SIM cards are 3G mobile data enabled and standard SIM and micro SIM cards are available.

International roaming with an increasing number of foreign mobile networks is now possible in Myanmar; the situation is changing fast, so it is best to check with your operator. You may encounter a block on data usage or SMS text messaging even if you are able to make and receive calls, and if this is the case you should go to a licensed Telenor, Ooredoo or MPT shop for advice (there are many in the downtown areas of larger cities).

Note that mobile network access is often patchy or non-existent in rural areas, but usually works well in towns.

Rental

Yadanarpon teleport opens a shop at Yangon international airport renting mobile phone handsets and SIM cards to foreign visitors. The shop will offer GSM, CDMA-450, and CDMA-800 SIM cards as well as various handsets. Both require a deposit of US$ 100.00.

SIM cards and handsets rental charges will be US$ 2.00 per day. Smartphone handsets will also be available for US$ 4.00 per day. CDMA-800 SIM cards could be used to access the internet.

The rental does not include call charges. Those renting a SIM card would need to purchase a “top up card”, which cost from Kyats 10,000.00 to Kyats 30,000.00