I hail from the 2012 wave of expats who, regardless of age, are now looked upon as the ‘veterans’ of Yangon. The pre- 2012, well we 2012ers revere them as some-what god-like to have survived this much... so far. But to most of our family members who visit, we are all equally labeled insane.

For most of the '12 generation we've seen it all: influx of imports such as cars, tourists and strange ideas, the real-estate highs and woes, and of course big promises of change here and there. Here we are, one of our woes fulfilled - communication for the masses, not just the privileged few, and a real chance to break down barriers in Myanmar society.

Sitting at the Ooredoo commercial launch press conference at the Myanmar International Convention Center, in the country’s capital Nay Pyi Taw – an event neatly put together by a company determined to be the game-changers and first movers in attempting to cater for needs of the rising tech-social hungry Myanmar – this is a truly historic event. I listen to Ooredoo Myanmar CEO, Ross Cormack pitch the crystal clear capabilities and global first internet speeds at affordable packages that I can finally get on my handset. However, one thing dawns on me: The blatant favouritism I play with my MPT sim card. Because I am writing this very post the handset that holds my MPT sim card, while forgotten in my pocket is my worn out phone that has become my Ooredoo sim surrogate. It feels like discrimination as I choose my MPT as my primary sim. It’s a dilemma we ‘12ers must encounter – Why can’t we let go of MPT?!

I guess it’s something Ooredoo and Telenor must deal with – our emotional attachment to our MPTs or rather in business psychology also known as a sunk cost trap with the money, time and emotions invested,changing now would make us seem like the losers in this relationship. And let’s get something clear it’s not the company MPT we seem to hold dear to us, rather this small yet very important piece of plastic.

Most of us have experienced the same dramatic love/hate story with our sim cards. First the struggle to comprehend the ridiculous price ($230 in my time – and I was considered lucky).Then the mission to go out and get one, using a Myanmar national to help us with the paper work. The buyer's remorse sets in afterwards after you realise you spent so much on something deemed dispensable back home and for what? To send a few emails to worrying family back home and spy on friends using Facebook every so often.

The constant disappointments with the connection and line quality we become familiar with the apologetic “Sorry, the number you have dialed...” lady who soon becomes your most hated voice in Myanmar. We deal with the random phone calls we get from locals who mistakenly dial our numbers - we decide to learn a few phrases in Burmese to ward off surprised locals. Oh, and let’s not forget the constant tap on words like ‘resend’, ‘retry’ and ’reconnect’ as the 3G connection drops in and out until we see “sent successfully” and can finally breathe again and stop tapping on our screens hysterically. The amount of times we dived down after we dropped it, frantically scanning the floor as if we dropped our last pair contact lenses. We’ve even safeguarded it to the extent of putting it in the same compartment as our passport and Visa documents when travelling,constantly checking to see if it’s still there.

However, there are some good moments too, using the 3G at very weak WIFI cafes. The sim becomes our tether confidant. And it finally starts to pay off when you network around town as people actually call you invite you rather than a Facebook event alert that you would’ve gotten two days later. We can put something on our business cards making us look a little more legit.We had the one up on the others, we had status! Things are looking up and we finally have it down packed until... well, something more desirable showed its face around town.

Drawing towards the end of the dazzling press conference I realise something. Finally, there is an escape from the insensitive and abusive MPT relationship I’ve had to endure these years. Even with their promises of a new and improved collaboration with world renowned Japanese telco KDDI, it’s a little too late and I’m unforgiving. What’s that saying again? “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…” Well, you get the point. And although Ooredoo is new and will have a few teething problems they have already shown me that they care, they are telling me that they deserve ME and not the other way around. Maybe that's what the new telcos marketing angle should be; like something out of a modern R&B song.