A Change of Guard

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Friday 4 September 2009

Cambodian Operators Argue Over Low Call Costs

­Cambodia's newest network operator, Beeline - backed by Russia's Vimplecom - has been accused of reneging on a deal to stop offering tariffs that its competitors claimed were loss-leading for the operator.

While accepting that Beeline is no longer signing up new customers to its "boom" tariff, rival operator, Mobitel said that an agreement to raise call costs for existing customers before the end of August had been breached.

Beeline Cambodia General Director Gael Campan confirmed to the local Phnom Penh Post newspaper that it stopped adding new users on the tariff Tuesday, and that all advertising - including billboards - had been withdrawn.

However, Mobitel says that at a meeting with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Beeline also agreed to raise its tariffs from US$0.05 per minute to $0.06 per minute for existing customers. A text message sent out last week to subscribers said that the older tariff would remain in place for existing customers.

Beeline has also denied that it is selling at a loss, citing additional services that are sold to customers. For its part, Beeline has accused Mobitel of blocking interconnection between the two networks while the dispute has dragged on.

Statistics from the Mobile World database shows the Cambodia ended last year with just under 4.4 million mobile phone subscribers, representing a population penetration level of 30%. The country has seven active network operators, along with two seemingly dormant license holders.

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