Now you are “allowed” to exchange SMS with your friends in Burma. But you are to be registered with the Burmese authorities first. “GSM phones in foreign countries can now send test messages to Burma,” an E-Trade Myanmar Company employee told The Irrawaddy. The number of mobile phones in Burma reached around 266,000 at the end of 2007.

A 3G network was recently launched in Burma based on the WCDMA standard. However, only 50 handsets have been issued – usually to the military junta. Previous reports had suggested that a 3G network was being built covering Yangon but was expected to have a capacity for 30,000 subscribers.