Sojitz Corporation, NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), NEC Corporation and NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation (NESIC) jointly announced today a plan to upgrade communications infrastructure connecting the major cities of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Myanmar, under an official order from Myanma Posts and Telecommunications, the country's largest telecommunications operator.

The Communication Network Improvement Project, valued at about 7 billion yen (about 62 million USD), will be the first ODA loan project in Myanmar's communications field carried out under the auspices of the Japanese government. The four participating companies plan to construct international internet connection facilities and communications infrastructure connecting the three cities and the Thilawa SEZ by 2021. Compared to the present, communications capacity will be more than tripled and significantly upgraded. The project also will support 5G services expected to be introduced in the near future.

Due to rapid economic growth in Myanmar, the penetration rate of mobile phones, only about 10% in 2014, now exceeds 90%, but insufficiencies in communication capacity and IP addresses have made the strengthening of communication infrastructure an urgently required task.

NTT Com and NEC have developed communication infrastructure now in use in Myanmar, such as LTE base stations, international internet connection facilities and a core communication network connecting Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay. Also, Sojitz has long been engaged in infrastructure and energy projects in the country, having opened an office in Yangon in 1918.

Roles of each company

Sojitz

As the principal contractor of the project, Sojitz will provide overall management, leveraging know-how it has acquired in infrastructure development projects worldwide.

NTT Com

NTT Com, Japan's largest internet connection service provider, will apply its technological capabilities and expertise in upgrading international internet connection facilities to a maximum capacity of 800 Gbps. In addition, it will resolve the lack of IP addresses by introducing IPv6 technologies.

NEC

NEC will provide cutting-edge optical communication equipment for core communication networks to expand transmission capacity to 1 Tbps, more than three times the current level. Its optical communication equipment will multiplex multiple signals of different wavelengths and transmit them via optical fiber.

NESIC

NESIC, working in collaboration of its subsidiary NESIC (Thailand) Ltd., will install DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) equipment supplied by NEC and carry out design, civil work and installation works of outside plant (optical cable network) total cable length 180km in Yangon and Thilawa SEZ. The company will also supply and install power supply equipment and air conditioning equipment.

Under the project, the four companies look forward to contributing to Myanmar's standard of living and sustainable industrial development through highly reliable and robust communications.

About Sojitz Corporation

Sojitz Corporation was formed out of the union of Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, both companies that boast incredibly long histories. For more than 150 years, our business has helped support the development of countless countries and regions. Today, the Sojitz Group consists of approximately 400 subsidiaries and affiliates located in Japan and throughout the world, developing wide-ranging general trading company operations in a multitude of countries and regions.

As a general trading company, the Sojitz Group is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including buying, selling, importing, and exporting goods, manufacturing and selling products, providing services, and planning and coordinating projects, in Japan and overseas. The Group also invests in various sectors and conducts financing activities. The broad range of sectors in which Sojitz operates includes those related to automobiles, plants, energy, mineral resources, chemicals, foodstuff resources, agricultural and forestry resources, consumer goods, and industrial parks.

About NTT Communications

NTT Communications solves the world's technology challenges by helping enterprises overcome complexity and risk in their ICT environments with managed IT infrastructure solutions. These solutions are backed by our worldwide infrastructure, including industry leading, global tier-1 public and private networks reaching over 190 countries/regions, and more than 450,000m² of the world's most advanced data center facilities. Our global professional services teams provide consultation and architecture for the resiliency and security required for your business success, and our scale and global capabilities in technology world are unsurpassed. Combined with NTT Ltd., NTT Data, and NTT DOCOMO, we are NTT Group.
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About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. The NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

About NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation

NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation (TSE: 1973; NESIC) provides integrated communication services that combine the strengths of system integration and related support services, as well as sophisticated engineering and facility management capabilities, for a broad range of customers, including telecommunications carriers, enterprises and government agencies. For more information, please visit https://www.nesic.co.jp/english/.