However, radio programs transmitted from abroad by Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and DVB are accessible and remain very popular. Because of high monthly subscription fees to access satellite television, most Burmese viewers install the receivers illegally. Authorities no longer restrict the importation of foreign news periodicals.
Internet connections are slow and expensive, and in 2014 only about 2 percent of the population accessed the medium, one of the lowest rates in the world. For those with internet access, a range of e-mail, blog, and social-media platforms—including Gmail, Facebook, and YouTube—have grown in popularity.
Long dominated by the state-owned monopoly of Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), the telecommunications sector has in recent years been undergoing major reforms to liberalize the market. International companies were allowed to enter the market for the first time in June 2013, when operating licenses were granted to Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo. The two firms began offering mobile services in 2014, and Telenor activated the country’s first independent link to the international internet. The new investment and competition was expected to drive down costs and improve service, increasing residents’ access to independent news and information. Currently, the cost of mobile data remains high and Wi-Fi signals are notoriously unreliable, limiting smartphone use even for those who can afford the devices.