Hospitality & Tourism. IT & Communications in Cambodia. Cambodia - Telecoms, Mobile, Internet and Forecasts. Cambodia's Smartphone Revolution: Think Promise Not Peril. From the Arab Spring to the current demonstrations in Hong Kong, much has been said about the power of youth movements and the impact of social media on political development in countries like Cambodia where freedom of speech, assembly, and association is often restricted.
In the run up to the 2012 local elections here, Foreign Policy published a controversial article entitled, “Betting on a Cambodian Spring,” that argued that “the Arab Spring has shown that democratic reformers can triumph even under the most improbable of circumstances.” Protesters march in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh after the July 28 national election.
Photo/Véronique Salze-Lozac’h. It is easy to see why Cambodia’s bulging youth demographic, where over 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30, fosters comparisons with the political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East. While Cambodia has had rapid internet uptake, some groups lag behind. Budget Smartphones Attract Consumers. Tuesday, 06 January 2015; News by Khmer Times/Ismail Vorajee Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, demonstrates new features of the Xiaomi Mi4 at a launch event in Beijing in July.
(Photo: Reuters) PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – While Samsung and Apple are the companies of choice for most smartphone users, new trends show consumers are trying discount manufacturers of the pricy internet-enabled devices. Cambodia is home to nearly 15 million people, yet there are over 20 million SIM cards currently in use. A new study shows that 93.7 percent of Cambodians have their own mobile phone, a remarkable statistic in a country where at least half of the population lives in rural areas and only one in three has access to electricity.
Smartphone penetration is 38.6 percent of the urban population and 20.7 percent of the rural population. The options available to Cambodian consumers include such cheap but reliable brands as Singtech from Singapore and Huwaei from China. Enter Xiaomi. Mr. Smart sees profits rise 126 pct, Business, Phnom Penh Post. Cambodia’s appetite for mobile data and internet plans is translating into significant profits for telecom firm Smart, according to the latest stock exchange filling from Malaysian parent company, Axiata. Smart reported after-tax profits totalling 77 million ringgit ($22.7 million) for the first nine months of the year, up 126 per cent from 34 million ringgit ($10 million) during the same period in 2013, according to Axiata’s third-quarter financial statements released November 24. “Data revenue has shown strong growth in all markets driven by increasing smartphone penetration and data usage,” Axiata’s third-quarter financial presentation states.
Smart’s gains in 2014 partly offset Axiata’s losses in its Celcom business in Malaysia and in its XL subsidiary in Indonesia, which collectively posted after-tax losses of 589 million ringgit. “Smart Axiata kept its growth momentum, especially driven by further growth of the data traffic and revenues,” Smart CEO, Thomas Hundt said. Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications (MPTC) Ministry of Post & Telecommunication (MPTC) - Ministries & Governmental Entities - Phnom Penh (PP) Ministry of Post & Telecommunication (MPTC) Government Map Data Map data ©2014 Google Map.
Www.itu.int/ITU-D/asp/CMS/Events/2011/ITU-ADB/Cambodia/Telecom_Infrastructure_MPTC.pdf. Page. Smart mobile internet service fastest in Cambodia, Special Reports, Phnom Penh Post. Growing a mobile operator from nothing to 400 employees in three years SMART headquarters is done in green and white.
Smart has the fastest mobile internet service in Cambodia, at up to 22 megabits, according to CEO Thomas Hundt. “If you want to have mobile internet in Cambodia, there is no faster option up to 22 megabits if you have the right device, “said the 34 year-old CEO who was born in Blankenburg, in the former East Germany. Those speeds are available in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Sihanoukville, right now according to Hundt. Smart is one of the top three brand names in mobile operators in Cambodia, headquartered in a modern building along the southern part of Monivong, with a distinctive green and white color scheme and very clean.
“Internet consumption over our network is skyrocketing,” he said. The Berlin Wall came down when Hundt was a boy of 13. ”The school system in former GDR was completely different. “Latelz is the legal entity and Smart is the brand.”