Nationwide Broadband by 2020

KHMER TIMES
SUM MANET

A worker handles ber-optic cables used in a broadband network. By 2020, the government plans to make broadband available to all Cambodians. Reuters

A high-speed broadband internet service will be within the reach of all Cambodians by 2020 in a master plan approved by the Council of Ministers, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek announced in a statement yesterday.

“We have a 4G LTE system in Phnom Penh and certain provincial capitals, but it is yet to be accessible by everyone in all the provinces,” said Mr. Iv Tek, adding that his ministry had developed a master plan to expand high-speed internet all through Cambodia by 2020.

Fourth-generation Long Term Evolution or 4G LTE is the fastest mobile broadband internet standard in Cambodia, designed to handle massive volumes of data.

“There are about seven million people accessing the internet through their smartphones as well as computers. So the current rate of internet penetration is about 45 percent,” said Mr. Iv Tek.

“In the master plan developed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and adopted by the Council of Ministers, we plan to make that penetration reach a target of 70 percent or more,” he pointed out.

Access to broadband networks is a fundamental part of city life, but not necessarily in rural areas where many have no access to the internet, said Mr. Iv Tek in the statement.

“The lack of internet connection decreases their chances in the labor market and increases social inequality,” the minister added.

The ministry, said Mr. Iv Tek, welcomed private sector investment in developing the country’s broadband network.

“The development of broadband contributes to economic growth and I hope the private sector is willing to invest in it when we have the right policies and regulation.”

Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Axiata, said his mobile company was one of the biggest partners of the Ministry of Posts and Communication.

“In our partnership with the ministry, we are constantly conducting market research on how we can move faster. It’s a ministry goal in the 2020 master plan,” Mr. Hundt told Khmer Times.

“Consumer behavior is changing all the time and obviously the internet is now a driving force. Almost 45 percent of all mobile devices are smartphones and consumers are increasingly relying on the internet for their communication needs,” he said.

“From this evidence, it meant that we had to change our network from a voice-call one ‒ which we had been operating for five years ‒ to a data network. So 100 percent of Smart’s base stations are of 3G, with 50 percent of them also able to serve 4G.”

Mr. Hundt said this gap will be closed in the next one to two years, where all of Smart’s base stations will be 4G in line with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications 2020 master plan.

“This year we are investing $75 million in data upgrade and that will be the range of investment in the years to come,” he revealed.

According to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, about 21 million mobile phone SIM cards were sold by the end of last year, or about 1.4 per person. When compared with other Asean countries, Cambodia’s percentage of mobile phone users ranks second to Singapore.