Leading telco Cellcard aims to become the largest 4G network provider in Cambodia by 2017

If you’re currently unable to tap into the latest generation of mobile telecommunications, you’re in luck. Cellcard, the only fully-owned Khmer telco in the Kingdom, is making inroads to allow more Cambodians the opportunity to enjoy the speed and convenience of 4G LTE with a massive expansion initiative.

The initiative, according to Cellcard CEO Ian Watson, will see the homegrown telco to make substansial investment to establish over 2,600 data sites, making the company the largest 4G network provider in Cambodia by Q2 of 2017.

“4G LTE is a global phenomenon that caters to today’s enormous demand for data, and Cellcard, as always, is focused on giving our customers the latest mobile technologies for all their needs,” he said during his keynote address at the recent 4G LTE Cambodia Conference. “Our expansion plan is just among many other initiatives we have to provide our users with the most widespread, secure and trusted 4G network in the country.”

Watson’s address set the pace for the Conference, an exclusive management-level event with the theme “Technology revolution: Towards a connected Cambodia”. The conference was attended by technology professionals, senior officials from government agencies, consulting experts, investors and business leaders from 72 countries as well as close to 500 participants.

In his opening keynote address “The inadequacies and difficulties in optimizing 4G technology investment in Cambodia”, Watson touched on the challenges faced by telcos today in implementing 4G. These included the high cost of international bandwidth and insufficient transmission capacity, the need for more time and resources to increase Cambodia’s relatively low 4G device penetration to allow the tech-savvy users to fully adopt the high speed data 4G networks will deliver .

“We are also faced with the rising popularity of services as Facebook, Line, viber and WhatsApp, which are replacing traditional voice calls and SMS despite our heavy investment in 3G and 4G networks,” he said, adding that voice and VoIP revenues were dropping as much as 30% globally.

To address these issues, Watson said Cellcard would continue to invest in expanding their 4G LTE network coverage to cater to the needs of connectivity, contents and user experience. The company will continue to developand introduce relevant data-oriented content and make it available to target user groups at affordable prices, making for simple, affordable and hassle-free data prices.

“As the only fully owned Khmer teleco , Cellcard will continue to innovate and we focus more on digital transformation of Cambodia , which includes data-oriented offers, the Internet of Things and cellular machine to machine (M2M) initiatives, over-the-top collaborations and relevant content development and roll-outs,” he said.

Apart from Watson, who was also a panelist on the “Infrastructure revolution of mobile networks,” other speakers included Mok Khemara, the director of the e-Government Department of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, who spoke on “Optimizing 4G LTE resource and Infrastructure”, Swapnil Deshmukh, head, Virtual Banking & Payments. Maybank Cambodia (“Securing customer data in the digital environment”), and Woranon Vechamaneesri, system engineer manager of Palo Alto Networks, Thailand and Indochina (“Accelerating digital transformation through next generation security”).

A total of 38 speakers touched on topics that included digital transformation, cyber and network security and the evolution of the mobile network.

The conference aimed to create the best platform to engage, exchange, update and gain best practices in the current development and future trends of the telecommunications industry. It also sought to access key initiatives and emerging technology solutions to optimize 4G services in the Kingdom.

It showcased a wide range of technology solutions and innovations, identified cutting-edge technologies, and allowed for side-by- side product evaluation. Visitors also gained hands-on experience about how today’s technologies can boost customer satisfaction.

The 4G LTE Conference ran parallel with the 7th ASEAN Cyber Security Forum (CSF-7), co-organized by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia and IDG ASEAN. Cellcard was the principal sponsor of the 4G LTE event.