Viettel opens mobile phone service in Cambodia with big plans

Viettel Cambodia Pte., an offshoot of Vietnam’s military-owned Viettel, has officially launched its mobile phone service in Cambodia this week, promising to help users cut payment by up to a quarter.

The Metfone network has signed 500,000 mobile phone subscribers after three months of pilot operations in Cambodia, a statement by Viettel said. Licensed by the Cambodia government in mid-2007, Viettel Cambodia has developed more than 1,000 base transceiver stations (BTS), or more than 40 percent of all BTSs in Cambodia, the statement said. It has also installed more than 5,000 kilometers of optical cable across the country. Metfone plans to expand the network to 3,000 BTSs and 10,000 kilometers of optical cable this year, Viettel said. Do Thanh Hai, business director of Viettel in Ho Chi Minh City, earlier this month said Viettel is hoping to become the second-largest service provider in Cambodia this year. It also hopes to sign 50,000 subscribers in Laos and is set to open a representative office in Myanmar, he said. The Hanoi-based telecom firm also plans to expand its network to North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela, Tran Phuoc Minh, deputy director of the unlisted telecom service provider in HCMC, said earlier this month, without giving details. Thailand’s Camshin and Malaysia’s TMIC have been dominating the mobile phone market of Cambodia for the last 14 years. Source: Thanh Nien