Viettel becomes Cambodia's fifth mobile carrier, looks to benefit from country's WTO access.
Viettel (Vietnam Military Telecom Company) has obtained license from Cambodian ministry to offer Internet & mobile services in the country. The company is now permitted to offer mobile services using GSM technology for 30 years & Internet-based services for thirty-five years in Cambodia.
Viettel will be fifth mobile operator in Cambodian market, consisting of around 144 million people. Other 4 operators are from Sweden, Singapore, Thailand and Norway.
Cambodia's telecom sector has become aggressively competitive after its accession to WTO few years back & it is right time for Viettel to enter the Cambodian market, the company said, mentioning that it would offer voice, data transfer, fax, WAP, international phone & Internet services in its 30-year span.
Cambodia was world's first country with more mobile customers than ones with fixed-line connections. Arrival of mobile services in 1992 coincided with Cambodian government's efforts to rebuild its infrastructure along with telecom services. Despite its inability to make high investments, govt. has been quite proactive in allowing private players to offer mobile services.
"Apart from WTO accession, Cambodian mobile industry has been quite successful in getting investments from other countries, particularly Thailand. Mobile growth has beaten fixed-line growth by a huge margin. Presence of four operators has already helped customers as intense competition has resulted in low tariffs. And with entry of Viettel, situation is likely to be more favorable," said an analyst at RNCOS.
Removal of market entry barriers has improved telecommunication access. Strong competition has led to emergence of competitive strategies like prepaid cards being provided for as little as US $ 5. Moreover, significant tariff declines have been seen in last few years.
Viettel has revealed that is also looking to enter Laotian market despite the state's low potential. It seems that Viettel, third largest cellular operator in Vietnam, is eyeing international markets with high growth opportunities for its global expansion.
Related Market Research Reports:
European Mobile Market Scenario to 2012
3G Market Forecast to 2010
Changing Faces of The Global Mobile Handset Market (2007)
