MyTel has been fined MMK 300 million (USD 197,800) by the Posts and Telecommunications Department for violating the regulatory framework. According to an article in The Irrawaddy, the fourth operator to join Myanmar’s telecom field, was fined and later warned, under Article 57(a) of the Telecommunications Law for breaching regulations in the Pricing and Tariff Regulatory Framework and for failing to follow licensing agreement rules. U Zaw Min Oo, Chief External Relations Officer of Mytel, was quoted as saying that the fine was imposed in March, after the company provided free SIM cards to customers shortly after entering the market. “They [salespersons] offered free SIM cards as they were so eager for sales,” Zaw Min Oo said of traders based outside Yangon. “People already have SIM cards, and they wouldn’t buy them if we sold them, and thus we offered them [for free].” MyTel is a joint-venture between Vietnam’s military-linked Viettel, a subsidiary of the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL), and a consortium of local companies.