Communications

Like most Southeast Asian nations, Myanmar is now part of the cyberspace community. But visitors must be aware that although you will find access to the internet in most of the major cities, the connections are excruciatingly slow and ridiculously expensive. Although internet cafes are sprouting up across the country, Yangon and Mandalay are the only two cities where a broadband service is on offer.

A good call

Visitors should note that mobile phones in Myanmar do not work at all. Not only that, but visitors are asked to surrender their phones at customs when entering the country and collect them upon departure. There are mobile phones for sale in Myanmar but they do not have overseas access. Satellite phones are also strictly prohibited in Myanmar.

Switching off

Rather than lamenting the temporary loss of access to your mobile phone, many visitors to Myanmar use this as an excuse to really ‘switch off’ during their holiday. If you do need to make a phone call, there are telephones and fax machines with international access available in most of the hotels in Yangon and Mandalay. And yes, they charge like wounded bulls.
To dial out from Myanmar, the country code is 00; the area code for Yangon is 01; for Mandalay 02.

For example:
To dial out from Myanmar: 00 (country code) + area code + local number.
To dial in to Yangon: (IDD code) + 95 + 1 + local number.
To dial in to Mandalay: (IDD code) + 95 + 2 + local number.