Edagawa, whose role becomes effective from 1 April 2019, joined the project in February 2017 and has been serving as its chief technical officer (CTO) since October 2017.
Edagawa replaces Toshitake Amamiya, who had been CEO since 1 January 2017, and has been appointed as a result of his “strong technology background” as the MPT-KSGM joint operations aims to reinforce 5G readiness.
State-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and KSGM, whose ultimate ownership is held by KDDI Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation, signed a joint operations agreement in July 2014. Since then, KDDI and Sumitomo have reportedly committed over $2 billion to accelerate the development of MPT and the country's telecommunications industry.
To date as its CTO, Edagawa has been driving the build of Myanmar’s fast-evolving telecommunications infrastructures, overseeing milestone developments such as the nationwide expansion of MPT’s 3G and 4G/LTE+ networks and the deployment of its FTTH services.
As its new CEO, he is ready to lead the operator and set its strategic direction, including the introduction of 5G and IoT which shall evolve the telecommunications industry in Myanmar.
“It gives me great honour to be appointed to this vital role during an exciting time for Myanmar’s telecommunications industry which is now seeing exceeding market competition and the rapid introduction of various new telecommunications offerings,” said Edagawa.
“Since the joint operations started back in 2014, it has achieved unprecedented progress, moving forward to provide high-speed network connectivity with our nationwide 3G and LTE+ 4G network and better offerings for the country’s many communities and businesses, resulting in the astonishingly-fast-paced introduction of the world of most advanced wearable computing life to Myanmar.
“Looking ahead, we aim to do even more for our customers toward solid and sound “5G (era),” forming the next generation foundation for the future of Myanmar, in line with our commitment to Move Myanmar Forward to enrich more the lives of Myanmar people through enhanced telecommunications services.”
Edagawa has more than three decades of industry experience of development and operations in the commercial and technology space. He previously served in various positions for the KDDI Group, which included roles as:
2014-2017: EVP for KDDI Engineering;
2005-2013: GM for the consumer business strategy division and product and service planning division of KDDI, covering mobile and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services; and
1985-2005: A leading research engineer/manager for KDDI R&D Laboratories, being engaged in the development of early-generations of optically-amplified transoceanic submarine cable systems and deployment of FTTH systems.
Five years after Myanmar’s telecoms sector liberalised, outsiders are still investing.
