Future Telecommunications Regulator Will Face Challenges

A lack of proper regulations, unrealistic market data and a constant stream of disputes between Cambodia’s mobile operators will likely hinder the country’s future telecommunications regulator from effectively governing the sector, according to a leading research firm. Without the enactment of telecommunications law, which is currently at the Council of Ministers after first being drafted in 2000, the proposed Telecom Regulator of Cambodia (TRC), will have no way to settle disputes between operators, Business Monitor Internationl (BMI) said in a quarterly analysis of the Cambodian and Lao telecommunications markets, published in June. … Cambodia has 10 mobile phone companies in total. The firms have accused one another of unfair business practices such as price dumping, not paying fees for operator interconnectivity, and inflating subscriber numbers to satisfy shareholders. The TRC was proposed by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) in March as a government-endorsed independent body that would regulate the sector in matters of policy and technical regulations. …