Under its projections, the number of telecom towers will rise from 6,400 at present to 10,000 by 2018. At present, 300 are located in Yangon.

Two years ago, the company started operations with only 68 towers in Mandalay. The number of points of sale for its SIM card also jumped from 1,150 to more than 85,000.

The company, claiming to be the largest and fastest-growing data network, now serves 17 million active users. All SIM cards in use in the country must be registered by March 31 or suspended from service.

"The growth has been extremely fast. We believe the number of users will grow over months, and we are also growing in terms of network. The number of our sites is growing day by day. We will always consistently strive to provide voice or data customers with the best quality," Joslin Myrthong, chief marketing officer, said on September 27.

Expansion will go along with good governance and returning benefits to communities.

According to Myrthong, the company's zero tolerance policy on corruption has posed some problems when doing business in Myanmar, where bribery is considered rampant. Yet, Myrthong said that Telenor had committed to its "no gift policy" during the years to come.

"It is still a challenging time. But we will uphold our values and ensure that we do business in that (corruption-clean) way. Telenor is leading in that area, and will continue to lead in that area in the future," he said.

To mark the second anniversary, it also pledged donations of 170 million kyats, 10 kyats for each active customers, to three charity organisations - See Zar Yeik Old Age Care Centre, the Residential Nursery and Training School for Girls under the Department of Social Welfare (Mandalay Region), and the Network Activities Group. The customers are invited to send free SMS, picking their favourite organisation. Donations to each under the "Stronger 2gether" campaign depend on customer votes.

"Over the past two years, we have witnessed the charitable nature of the people of Myanmar on numerous occasions. Myanmar, according to the World Giving Index, is the most charitable and most giving nation in the world. We are proud to celebrate the view that we are indeed stronger together when we unite in times of celebration as much as in times of adversity, by reaching out to those in need.

"In that respect, we believe it is fitting that we mark this momentous milestone in a way that enables our customers to join us in the act of meaningful giving to community groups of their choice," said Myrthong.Source: www.nationmultimedia.com