Cambodia rides Information Superhighway

Cambodian newspaper The Phnom Penh Post writes that the initial three-year phase of a project to build a telecoms network linking Cambodia with five other countries has been completed. A 650km fibre-optic cable, which covers two thirds of Cambodia, has been inaugurated linking the country with China, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. Lao Saroeun, the director general of state-owned telco Telecom Cambodia (TC) which alongside Chinese equipment vendor Huawei has managed the ‘GMS Information Superhighway’ project, said more access points will be built along the new line, which has a transmission speed of 620Mbps. The next phase will see the construction of a high speed ring network between the six countries to help further develop their economies, while the final step will connect all public services in Cambodia to the cable. Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun, commented: ‘The government is taking significant steps to build the ICT infrastructure, especially optical fibre, which is key to helping Cambodia catch up with opportunities using the next generation of telecoms.’