Communications
Communications infrastructure
TRC curbs phone service offers
A new deadline has been set for mobile operators Cellcard, Smart and Metfone to stop their promotional money exchange program by March 30, according to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36631/trc-curbs-phone-service-offers/
First submarine cable launched
Cambodia’s first submarine telecoms cable, costing $100 million, that will strengthen existing internet capacity and greatly increase connectivity speed at lower cost, was officially launched yesterday. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36511/first-submarine-cable-launched/
SIM card sellers face crackdown
National Police officials have promised tough action against those who sell SIM cards without copying buyers’ national identity cards, saying the practice may have a dangerous impact on society. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/35713/sim-card-sellers-face-crackdown/
Phone regulator issues ultimatum
The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) issued a second directive on Wednesday to all mobile phone operators in the country instructing them to stop placing misleading advertisements in the media that could cause public confusion. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/35556/phone-regulator-issues-ultimatum/
Telcos called to pay debts
Frustrated with the lack of compliance, the government has given the Kingdom’s mobile operators an ultimatum: declare their company revenue shares and settle all outstanding debts owed to the government by the end of the month or face swift and severe punitive action. ...
Kali Kotoski and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/telcos-called-pay-debts
Regulator gears up for mobile pricing showdown
Cambodia’s telecommunications regulator yesterday stepped up efforts to avert a brewing price war between the country’s six mobile network operators, ordering the companies to submit profitability statements within the next 10 days and summoning all operators to a meeting at the end of the month ...
Kali Kotoski
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/regulator-gears-mobile-pricing-showdown
Encryption aid deal inked
Vietnam inked a deal with Cambodia on Friday to provide more than half a million dollars’ worth of training in encryption coding, prompting some to question the wisdom of accepting foreign help to protect state secrets. ...
Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/encryption-aid-deal-inked
PM wants fast data satellite
Cambodia should have its own satellite to make high-speed broadband available to all, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. The prime minister also proposed that the Royal Group, a local conglomerate, partner with other companies to make the Kingdom’s satellite dream a reality. Addressing about 600 ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/33238/pm-wants-fast-data-satellite/
Internet freedom ranking slips
Cambodia fell four spots in a 2016 ranking of internet freedom across the world released yesterday, with the organization behind it tying the drop to a spate of arrests for nothing more than Facebook posts and a much-maligned telecommunications law that critics say gives the ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32011/internet-freedom-ranking-slips/
Spectrum licences up for grabs
The government announced yesterday that it will hold its first public auction for 4G spectrum frequencies, with two licences up for bid on frequencies reassigned after their original licence-holders failed to utilise them. ...
Kali Kotoski and Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/spectrum-licences-grabs
Telecoms ministry promises punishment for non-registration of phone users
The government has pledged to punish mobile telephone operators that do not register the identities of their users—or fail to shut down anonymous numbers—by the middle of the month, threatening fines or suspensions for non-complying companies. ...
Khy Sovuthy and Aisha Down
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/telecoms-ministry-promises-punishment-non-registration-phone-users-120046/
Cheaper internet next year
A new submarine telecoms cable due for completion in early 2017 will strengthen existing internet networks, increase capacity and lower costs, according to the company installing the cable. Yves Shaeffer, CEO of EZECOM, which owns Telcotech that is installing the Malaysia-Cambodia and Thailand (MCT) submarine cable, ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/31246/cheaper-internet-next-year/
Telecom tax in pipeline
Future growth of telecom networks in rural Cambodia will be funded by a three percent tax on gross revenue for the country’s telecom operators, due to begin within the first half of 2017. Im Vutha, spokesperson for the Telecom Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) told Khmer Times ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/31245/telecom-tax-in-pipeline/
Walkie-Talkie licenses required
The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) warned last week that it would take legal action over people selling, repairing and using walkie-talkies without permission and in dangerous ways, such as using frequencies reserved for officials. ...
Pech Sotheary
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/30812/walkie-talkie-licenses-required/
US offers tips for cybercrime team
Cambodian police, prosecutors and policymakers were hosted in Washington recently by the US government, as part of America’s efforts to support the drafting of the Kingdom’s controversial cybercrime law. ...
Bun Sengkong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/us-offers-tips-cybercrime-team
New ISP aims to compete on quality, not low pricing
Cambodia’s newest internet service provider (ISP), Today Communication, will join a busy market when it begins offering its services in Phnom Penh on Saturday. However, the company hopes that its focus on providing quality service, especially to businesses, will distinguish it from more than 30 ...
Matthieu de Gaudemar
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/new-isp-aims-compete-quality-not-low-pricing
Telecom backbone now extends over 26,000km
Three telecom operators provide a total of more than 26,000 kilometres of backbone fixed-line infrastructure as of June, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced yesterday in a report posted on its Facebook page. ...
Post Staff
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/telecom-backbone-now-extends-over-26000km
More investors plug in to Kingdom’s online growth
Cambodia’s fixed-line internet services market continues to attract new players despite limited infrastructure and a crowded playing field, new data show. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/more-investors-plug-kingdoms-online-growth
SIM card ownership down by nearly 12%
The number of mobile phone subscribers nationwide decreased by 11.5 per cent over the last year in what regulators are describing as a rebalancing after the market reached a saturation point, pushing well beyond 100 per cent penetration. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/sim-card-ownership-down-nearly-12
US to train Cambodian government on combating cybercrime
The United States has invited senior Cambodian officials to learn about cybercrime from U.S. experts. Numerous countries and nongovernmental organizations have expressed concern in recent years over the drafting of a Cambodian cybercrime law, which critics say could be used to restrict freedom of expression and ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.voanews.com/content/united-states-train-cambodian-government-combat-cybercrime/3396048.html
Cambodia welcomes regional SIM proposal
The government is considering a proposal for telecommunications regulators in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar to jointly enforce mobile phone SIM card registration in an effort to prevent cross-border fraud and drug trafficking, among other illegal activities. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-welcomes-regional-sim-proposal
Advertisers spend less on print
Advertising budgets are getting bigger, but an increasingly smaller share of the revenue is going to traditional print media, with 2016 shaping up to be an exceptionally lean year, new market research shows. ...
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/advertisers-spend-less-print
Hope for solving community-level problems as ICT reshapes life in Cambodia
Just ten years ago, Cambodians relied on dingy, storefront Internet businesses if they wanted to get online. Computers were old, power cuts were frequent, and overhead fans creaked along in a failing attempt to keep customers cool as they paid per minute to “surf” the ...
Aun Chhengpor
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/hope-for-solving-community-level-problems-as-ict-reshapes-life-in-cambodia/3360641.html
Seatel launches Japan’s freetel smartphone
Seatel, a 100 percent 4G VoLTE telecommunication company in Cambodia, last Friday launched the FreeTel smartphone from Japan in the Cambodian market, as the use of smartphones in Cambodia has grown significantly. ...
Khmer Times team
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/24991/seatel-launches-japan---s-freetel-smartphone/