Cambodia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Cambodia’s regulator suspends 17 operators

Cambodia’s hyper-competitive mobile and ISP sectors felt the pain of restraints being applied in October 2020 when the Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications (MPTC) suspended or revoked the licenses of 17 operators. Some of the suspensions were for reporting incorrect revenue or a failure to pay income tax, and may result in the operators being allowed to return to the market once their records have been cleared. In other cases, however, the MPTC cited a failure to comply with the terms of the operating licence and the suspension or revocation may be terminal.

For those operators still in business, 2020 was a period spent battening down the hatches while Covid-19 ravaged the globe. Cambodia’s mobile sector - by far the most dominant section of the telco market - experienced a small drop in subscriber numbers but increased revenues due to subscribers upping their data usage. Most of the MNOs invested in expanding their LTE networks while also upgrading base stations to be ready for 5G. Unfortunately, the launch of 5G services will not be for some time yet, since the government has withheld the release of spectrum and licenses while it ponders a policy and roadmap for the rollout of 5G across the nation.

Cambodia’s fixed-line network and infrastructure remains lacklustre, with fixed-line telephony numbers falling dramatically once again into 2021 to just over 42,500 lines. Fixed broadband services will suffer the consequences of an under-developed network, barely reaching 3% penetration within the next five years.