Myanmar is one of the least mobile connected countries in the world. Qatar-based telecom Ooredoo is going to change that, by winning an international cellphone license tender late Thursday. But the deal fuels religious sentiments; Buddhist nationalists call for a boycott of the ‘Muslim company’.

There is nothing special about making a mobile call for most people around the globe, even in deprived countries these days. Not in Myanmar. In one of the poorest nations in Asia, less than 3% of the Burmese has access to a mobile phone. Mobile and smart phones can be bought everywhere, like anywhere, but it is almost impossible to find an affordable SIM card. Only on the black market SIM cards are for sale, for up to 300 USD. That is already much better than a couple of years ago. The first mobile services made available in 2001, costed over an incredible $5000.

It is not only poverty. For decades the repressive military regime was totally fine with common people hardly being able to communicate. This way only few could know and talk about the atrocities committed by the army, like torturing thousands of political prisoners.

Since two years the government is promoting reform, towards a more democratic and open Burma. Affordable communication is part of that plan. The ministry of Information announced two new licenses for international telecoms. All main global telecoms tried, but only the Norwegian based Telenor and Ooredoo won that bid.

Great news for the companies, that can enter such a new demanding market (Burma has over 55 million potential subscribers), great news for the Burmese, finally able to make a clear call for an affordable price and great news for the government, that made lots of money selling the licenses. But not everybody is happy.

As soon as the news is announced by the Ministry, hundreds of comments flood its facebook page, like “Say No to Ooredoo”. One of the extreme nationalistic Buddhist leaders, monk Ashin Wimala tells the New York Times: “Did the government have such little choice? Why did they award this to a Muslim company?”.

Together with the newly gained freedom of speech, Burma also experiences a downside: open discrimination towards minorities. Over the last year Muslims (3% of the population, while over 80% is Buddhist) across the country have been targeted by ‘Buddhist mobs’, killing over 200 Muslims and forcing over 150.000 people to flee. Fundamentalist Buddhist monks call for economic boycott of Muslim businesses and promote legislation against ‘mixed marriages’.

It is hard to predict how many ‘moderate’ Buddhists will agree with this ‘Ooredoo’ boycott. The deputy minister of Information stated, during a meeting against hate speech, that ‘most facebook accounts are fake’. The expectation is to have 80 percent of the population utilizing mobile phones by 2016. Time will tell if most Burmese value religious intolerance more than simply being able to call each other for a fair prize, no matter if the company behind that connection is from Qatar.

My first 'Burma Impression' was already about the crazy mobile market in Myanmar, but these new developments made me write this new blog.