"Myanmar citizens living in some of the country's ethnic conflict zones are facing difficulties accessing the internet due to government restrictions and the low level of communications infrastructure, despite national leader Aung San Suu Kyi's push for a digital economy in the aftermath the coronavirus pandemic. "Although access to [the] internet is a human rights issue in the digital era, there are places with no internet, slow internet and imposed internet shutdown by the government, especially in the conflict zones," Athan, an activist group supporting freedom of expression in Myanmar, said in a report critical of the government that was released on Dec. 23. In 2014, the government allowed foreign mobile operators to enter the country, which significantly reduced the mobile phone charges. The number of mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants increased to 113 in 2018 from just 13 in 2013, according to the International Telecommunication Union, an international organization. A number of mobile money services, enabling people to transfer money to each other using their phones, emerged from 2016. The government stressed the importance of and opportunities for digitalizing the economy, such as utilizing technology in money transfers. A speech on Dec. 20 by Aung San Suu Kyi, who carries the title of state counselor, highlighted this policy. "COVID-19 has thrown light on the significance of the digital system and the need for digital transformation to be launched with increased momentum," she said, stressing that the government is collaborating with the private sector to build digital platforms such as for trading goods and services..."