While the government has applauded the competition created by Mobitel’s launching of the country’s second international phone gateway, Telecommunications Minister So Khun said Monday that the government will restrict international gateways to only two—the state-run Gateway 1 and Mobitel’s Tele2.
The Royal Telecam International, created by Mobitel—which is itself a joint venture between the Royal Group and Swedish telecom giant Millicom—officially launched Tele2 in a ceremony Monday in Takhmau district, Kandal province. The subsidiary has invested about $15 million to establish a pair of satellite stations and lay submarine fiber-optic cables that would allow the system to reach 220 countries, according to the company.
“This new international gateway will not only facilitate communications for the citizens and enterprises in the country, but it will also attract future investments,” said Ma Zaman, senior executive vice president of Millicom International Cellular.
Presiding at the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the addition to Cambodia’s international telecommunications sector would serve as a backbone to the country’s digital economy.
“With this investment, Cambodia has made considerable progress and advancement in the telecommunications sector,” Hun Sen said.
The prime minister also said it is crucial for Cambodia to have two international gateways, because two systems could support each other as a backup and the competition would bring better quality, service and lower prices for users.
But prices for Tele2 international phone service (prefix 007) have been the same as those of the state-run gateway (001), which was developed, operated and then handed over to the government by Australia-based Telstra.
Hun Sen reiterated that the government must regulate telecommunications operators to ensure fair competition and protect the state’s interests.
“The government has the responsibility to maintain an environment that ensures a fair competition between different players in the markets,” he said. “Wild and unregulated competition would become a danger.”
Later, So Khun said the government’s role in regulating the international telecommunications sector includes not only regulating tariffs, but also excluding other phone operators from joining Cambodia’s international phone market.
“We still have few [international] phone users,” So Khun said in his speech. “The government has therefore decided to only maintain the existence of two international gateways.”
So Khun said incoming calling time from other countries to Cambodia doubled from 15 million minutes in 1994 to 31 million minutes in 2000.
International telecommunications generated about $23 million for the government in 1999, representing more than 90 percent of the ministry’s annual revenue.
Mobitel has now invested about $75 million in the telecommunications sector.
Future plans include joining the Internet market with new wireless technology, although company officials Monday would not divulge a timetable for that project.
