Cambodia’s telecom regulator has de-recognised 29 internet and voice-over internet protocol (VOIP) providers in the Kingdom, for failing to provide documentation to prove their active status, according to an official from the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC).

After the regulator issued a November 30 deadline for proving they have active operations, 29 companies failed to respond to the deadline and to provide any documentation to support their case.

After this, said Im Vutha, director of the TRC’s regulation and dispute unit, the regulator decided to take back the licences of these firms and to not return their deposits, which was submitted at the time of issuance.

“Based on the conditions of the license, if the company has no active operations, the deposit will not be returned and licence is considered null and void,” Vutha said. “So we have already deleted 29 companies.”

“We have informed them and encouraged them to come forward because they need to follow the regulations,” he added.

The deposit for an internet service provider is $10,000 and for VOIP providers it is $50,000.

Of the five companies that are under investigation, four companies responded with some of the requested documents, which include financial statements, tax receipts and customer invoices, whereas the fifth company was given 15 more days to make their case.

“We don’t want to put much pressure on them and are giving them at least 15 days more to respond for the first step of the investigation and there will be a follow-up too,” Vutha said.

If the investigation were to find that the five companies were not actively operating then action would be taken against them as well, Vutha added.

The four companies that responded to the TRC’s request were World City Co Ltd (Camko City), Fast Speed Co Ltd, Skynet Communication Co Ltd and Telemobile Cambodia Corporation.

The fifth company, Flash Tech Co Ltd, when contacted by the Post earlier this month, said they hadn’t submitted the relevant documents and were unaware of the deadline.