News
Cellcard advert questioned
The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) is calling out telecommunications firm Mobitel over a TV ad that shows a young Cambodian man who is shocked and dismayed when he meets, on a blind date, what appears to be a transgender woman. Lasting about 60 seconds, ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cellcard-advert-questioned
Minister Says Set Phone Call Prices ‘Temporary’
The minister of posts and telecommunications on Monday insisted an edict ordering the country’s seven mobile phone operators to abide by a law that sets minimum prices for calls is only temporary. Prak Sokhon, the newly-appointed posts and telecommunications minister, said the order was necessary because ...
Joshua Wilwohl and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/minister-says-set-phone-call-prices-temporary-48975/
Smart Mobile Sees 36% Revenue Growth
Malaysian telecommunications company Axiata Group Berhad reported Wednesday that its Cambodian brand Smart has seen strong growth in the first nine months of the year, with revenue increasing by 36 percent compared with the same period last year. In its third quarter financial report, Axiata said ...
George Styllis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/smart-mobile-sees-36-revenue-growth-48215/
MobiTel Named in Leaked Australian Phone Tap Document
When one of Australia’s top intelligence agencies in 2009 presented staff with a slideshow detailing their attempts to intercept mobile telephone calls by Indonesia’s president, first lady and top officials, it also revealed other possible spying targets—including one of Cambodia’s largest mobile operators, MobiTel, according ...
Joshua Wilwohl
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mobitel-named-in-leaked-australian-phone-tap-documents-47672/
Pay&Go Aims to Streamline Bill Payments With New Services
A local company has begun working in cooperation with ABA bank to streamline payments for services such as electricity bills and mobile phone top-ups by allowing people to pay through its website, mobile applications and electronic kiosks. PayGo SEA (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., which operates under the ...
Joshua Wilwohl and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/paygo-aims-to-streamline-bill-payments-with-new-services-44794/
Telecom CEOs Say Debts to Mfone Are Far Less
Executives at some of the telecommunication firms indebted to bankrupt mobile operator Mfone said Thursday they owe much less than claimed by the company, and will negotiate with Mfone’s administrator to find a resolution before a complaint is filed in court. “We do owe Mfone money, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/telecom-ceos-say-debts-to-mfone-are-far-less-34630/
Mfone to File Complaint Against Six Companies
Bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone is planning to file a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against six telecommunications firms it says have failed to pay back more than $1 million in outstanding debt to the firm, the court administrator charged with overseeing Mfone’s ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mfone-to-file-complaint-against-six-companies-34409/
Ministry Cancels Telco Limits
An often flouted and publicly unpopular restriction forbidding Cambodia’s telecoms from offering lucrative mobile phone promotions was scrapped on Sunday, just two weeks after it was introduced. In a letter from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC), signed by Minister So Khun, it announced a ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050765438/Business/ministry-cancels-telco-limits.html
Mobile Bonuses Axed After Firm Complaint
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun said Wednesday that the government’s decision last week to order all mobile phone firms to stop offering generous top-up bonuses came after one of the market’s competitors complained to the ministry. Ian Watson, CEO of Mobitel, denied complaining ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/mobile-bonuses-axed-after-firm-complaint-21436/
Cambodia’s Conglomerate in talks to buy communications satellite from China
Cambodia’s Royal Group of Companies is in negotiations to purchase a satellite from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation for its telecoms operations in Cambodia, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Wednesday. Tycoon Kith Meng currently owns the kingdom’s largest mobile phone operator, Mobitel. ...
Government tells telcos off
The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued warning letters to mobile operators Beeline and Smart over their recent advertisement, stating it violates the Inter-Ministerial Prakas, or edict, signed in 2009. The separate letters, obtained by the Post last week, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013040864932/Business/government-tells-telcos-off.html
Hun Sen Signed Off On Mfone Customers Deal With Mobitel
Prime Minister Hun Sen approved a decision in January to transfer hundreds of thousands of customers from bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone to the country’s largest telecommunications firm, Mobitel, despite a court injunction preventing Mfone from offloading assets. According to the statement released yesterday by the ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-signed-off-on-mfone-customers-deal-with-mobitel-17533/
Too many players vie in Kingdom’s ISP industry
Like the telecommunications industry in Cambodia, the market for internet service providers (ISP), too, is overcrowded, leading industry experts to say that the situation is preventing new investment. Data from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications showed that at the end of 2012, Cambodia had ...
Beeline In Negotiations with Potential Buyer
VimpelCom, the parent company of local mobile operator Beeline, is looking to sell the majority share of its Cambodian assets and has entered into negations with a possible buyer, according to a document obtained yesterday. “VimpelCom intends to dispose its entire indirect 90.0 percent stake in ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/beeline-in-negotiations-with-potential-buyer-16275/
Creditors Claim $160 Million in Mfone Debts
Thousands of creditors have come forward alleging they are owed a combined $160 million by bankrupt mobile phone operator Mfone, the administrator appointed to the case said yesterday. “Mfone owes money to hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals totaling $160 million,” he said. Nim Solida, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/creditors-claim-160-million-in-mfone-debts-16379/
Mfone Employees Demand Unpaid Salaries
More than 100 former employees of the bankrupt mobile telephone company Mfone protested outside the firm’s shuttered offices in Phnom Penh yesterday, demanding that they receive salaries for working the month of February despite the company having already gone out of business. Mar Samoeun, 64, ...
As Liquidation of Mfone Begins, Victims and Lawsuits Abound
As insolvency proceedings against bankrupt telecommunications firm Mfone begin, yet another company, Smart Mobile, has filed a court complaint to collect unpaid costs from the mobile operator, and the list of parties to have suffered from the firm’s collapse continue to grow. The Phnom Penh Municipal ...
Huawei to Build 4G Phone Network for Chinese Firm
Chinese Telecommunications giant Huawei has signed a deal to install thousands of transmitters across Cambodia to create a new high-speed mobile telephone and Internet network, according to a statement received yesterday. Huawei Technologies (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. and Xinwei (Cambodia) Telecom Co. Ltd. – a local subsidiary ...
Vendors Protest Over Worthless Mfone Cards
More than 100 mobile phone vendors protested yesterday outside the Phnom Penh headquarters of bankrupt mobile operator Mfone over their stocks of phone credit recharge cards that are now worthless, as the defunct company has transferred its subscribers to MobiTel, which does not recognize the ...
Rights Group Denounces Gag Order on Lawyers Before Election
New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Cambodian Bar Association of trying to silence potential government critics ahead of July’s national elections by imposing restrictions on lawyers making public statements. The Bar Association and the Information Ministry have both issued edicts that ...
Gag Order on Lawyers Sparked by Comments in Mfone Case
A controversial order instructing lawyers to consult the Cambodian Bar Association before making public statements was triggered by comments made by an attorney involved in the high-profile legal battle involving mobile operator Mfone, a spokesman confirmed on Monday. Kuoy Thunna—who is representing Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/gag-order-on-lawyers-sparked-by-comments-in-mfone-case-10015/
Mfone transfer questioned
Although Mfone subscribers are due to transfer their accounts to Mobitel today, the Post has learned that telco provider Huawei Technologies (Cambodia) is still waiting for a court to rule on the legality of the transaction. Huawei’s lawyer, Kuoy Thunna, filed a letter late last month ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020661207/Business/mfone-transfer-questioned.html
The great mobile shake-out
Mobile phone subscribers in Cambodia have had little to complain about in recent years. With six new operators entering the market since 2006, the result was oversaturation and an all-out price war as eight operators fought for a foothold in a country with fewer than ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/334187/the-great-mobile-shake-out
E-card holders concerned about SIM card exchange
Mfone e-card holders are concerned that the cards can no longer be used after the change from Mfone’s SIM card to Cellcard’s SIM and, along with officials, are unsure of a solution. Wholesalers and retailers have expressed concern that they will lose money when the scratch ...