| Last updated January 11th, 2009 | 2,164 page views so far | 
Newly introduced prepaid mobile phone SIM cards from Myanmar Telecoms and Telegraph are now available to general public in City Mart Supermarkets in Yangon, according to The Voice Weekly News Journal from Myanmar. According to The Voice, the phone cards are sold at the original price of US$ 20. Customers have to show their ID card, and there is a limit of three SIM cards per ID card per purchase. Since 1st January, the mobile phone SIM cards are available at 9 City Mart outlets in Yangon and City Mart in Mandalay.Although official price is set at US$ 20 per cards, these cards are sold at twice the official price by some of the retailers. The normal post paid SIM cards are sold officially at 1,500,000 kyats (around 1,200 US$) and the resold at twice the official price by those who got these SIM cards.
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What is the SIM phone cards area code? Is it 4 or 9? I could not call using 011-959 or 011-954 to my relatives who have prepaid mobile phone SIM card.
Could you provide more information?
Thanks
Bamarlay Reply:
April 10th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Thank you for the comment. Normally, all the mobile phones (GSM/CDMA) phone code in Myanmar starts with 09. 09-50xxxxx for GSM and 09-80xxxxx for CDMA mobile phones. I am not sure why you cannot call to the prepaid cards in Myanmar. May be you should try calling using the normal international dialing codes (+959 or 001-959).
So, does a Yangon local pay US $20 and they get a cellphone with the SIM card? And each time, they have to return the entire phone and when they want a new SIM card, they get another cell phone?
Or, does the local need to have a cell phone already, and they just replace the SIM card?
Could you provide more information? Thanks.
Bamarlay Reply:
April 15th, 2009 at 8:49 am
You need to buy your own mobile phone. 20 dollar is only the sim card which will expire in a month. Currently, there is no way of refilling your card. I think the main reason is it is mainly targeted at foreign tourists.
Hello,
I have an urgent question only a bit related to the topic. I’m flying to Myanmar (Yangon) in a couple of days and I just found some info that as a foreigner I have to leave my mobile phone at customs in Yangon. In other words – I cannot have my phone with me while in Myanmar, but I will receive it back only while leaving the country.
Can you confirm this information or do you have any suggestion where I can verify it quickly? I need an answer urgently because I will leave my home country in less that 48 hours and don’t know if I should take my phone with me or leave it at home. The real problem is that I will arrive to Myanmar via Yangon, but leave from Mandalay, so if they take away my phone at Yangon airport I will never get it back
.
Kind regards,
Michal
Bamarlay Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Thanks for visiting Myanmar Today. First, I would like to tell you that I have never heard of this information. My sister, who is now a Singaporean citizen and enters Myanmar several times with a Singaporean passport is never asked for her cell phone. All my foreigner friends who enter Myanmar were also never asked. However, this was last year, and with all the current events in Myanmar, I am not sure whether it is a new regulation or just a rumour. But this is the first time I heard about it.
If you are afraid that your cell phone might be taken, then the best way is never to mention or declare that you have a cell phone. If they ask, tell them that you left your cell phone at home with your family as there is no use of the cell phone here. Keep the cell phone in the luggage or inside your back pack. Most of the time, they never ask to see inside the luggage of the foreigners (even for a Burmese like me, they rarely ask as I usually travelled light). If you are carrying a big luggage, they might ask you to open your bag but they rarely search thoroughly, so put it inside somewhere that is not easy to see. If they ask you to open your bag, they will simply look at it and say thank you. So there is no need to be worried or panic.
Hope this information is useful to you.
Michal Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Many thanks for quick response and suggestions
Michal
Hallo,
I heard there are GSM and CDMA cards available, depending on the available net in the special area. In Ngapali – I heard – there should work only the CDMA-net.
Are these informations right? Can I use a normal dualband-mobile for the CDMA-net?
Thanx in advance,
Jens, traveling in Dec./Jan. to Myanmar
Hi,
Could you please recommend me the best cell phone brands to use with scim card, in yangon or if possible anywhere in the country.
Do blackberry cell phone works here?
Thanks in advance,
Hau
Bamarlay Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Usually, Nokia works better than other brands in Myanmar. I am not sure Blackberry will work in Myanmar or not. In Myanmar you can buy both GSM and CDMA prepaid cards now. However, CDMA cards are more expensive (US$ 50) and the network availability is also more limited than GSM. Most cellular networks in Myanmar are GSM.
Hi, can blackberry 9530 use in Yangon? I heard it works for both GSM and CDMA network. Will CDMA 2000 1x EV-DO work in Yangon? There are many different type of CDMA ph. Looking forward to hear back soon. Thanks.
Please note that there are 2 different frequency bands used by different CDMA networks.
CDMA networks in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia are operating on 450 MHz frequency band.
While in Thailand only 800 MHz frequency band is used for CDMA (Hutch, CAT CDMA).
Therefore CDMA phones from Thailand can not be used in Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia.
When you buy a CDMA phone for Myanmar (Laos, Cambodia) you need to make sure that this CDMA phone is for 450 MHz (not 800 MHz).
Hi,
I am leaving for Yangon in two days. I am just wondering, is the pre paid phone card still cost me $20 ? and how much it charged for international text message and call?
many thanks,
yani
Bamarlay Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 12:04 am
International calls are quite expensive in Myanmar. Call to Thailand usually cost 1.70 us dollar per minute. Calls to other countries are more expensive.