TC fixed line growth speeds up

TeleGeography
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Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Cambodia’s state-owned incumbent Telecom Cambodia (TC) gained twice as many fixed lines subscribers in 2008 than in the previous year, boosting its number of lines in service to 26,091, writes local newspaper Phnom Penh Post. In 2008 more than 3,600 fixed lines were added, compared with just 1,500 in 2007. TC's subscriber growth has continued in 2009, with the number of fixed lines up by 1,337 in the first five months of the year. The report also adds that in total there are around 50,000 fixed line voice connections in the country, with the remainder shared between rival telcos Camintel and Mfone.

Meanwhile Camnet, the internet arm of TC, has also witnessed an increased growth in subscribers. ‘In 2007 there were about 300 Camnet subscribers, but by the close of the first half of this year (2009), the number climbed to around 1,000,’ said Lao Saroeun, director general of TC. One reason behind the increase in customers is the operator’s decision to cut the cost of broadband internet access, Saroeun added. Previously, the monthly cost for a 1Mbps downlink connection stood at USD1,300, but since Vietnamese military-owned rival operator Viettel entered the market, Camnet had dropped its price to USD700 for the same amount of bandwidth.