Tourists visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap town’s Nokor Thom commune on November 15, 2017. Heng Chivoan
Apsara National Authority is conducting a study into the proposal for tourist-use wireless internet in the Angkor Archaeological Park, Long Kosal, director of the authority’s Department of Communication, told The Post on Tuesday.
During a meeting at the end of last month, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Tram Iv Tek said the Angkor area will be equipped with fifth generation wireless technology (5G WiFi) to deliver speedy internet connection and other online services for national and international guests at Siem Reap province’s world famous Unesco heritage site.
“We have received the [ministry’s] proposal. We are currently reviewing and discussing it, and [we’ll] talk with them after our leaders meet."
“We are taking into consideration the positive and negative aspects of the proposal. For the time being, I cannot give any more comment on the issue. We just want to confirm that Apsara Authority is discussing the proposal. We will provide an update about our leaders’ decisions,” Kosal said.
He could not say when talks will conclude or whether 5G WiFi would be introduced to the Angkor Archaeological Park.
“The ministry’s request includes equipping the area’s existing service antennae to provide the 5G WiFi,” he said.
Larger efforts
According to minister of posts and telecommunications Iv Tek, the 5G WiFi project is part of larger efforts by the government to expand the Kingdom’s internet infrastructure, which will improve the livelihoods of those in rural areas and help Cambodia become an upper middle income country by 2030.
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications spokespersons Meas Po and Khov Makara could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
During a meeting late last month with representatives of HyalRoute Group – the parent company of Cambodia Fiber Optic Communication Network (CFOCN), the largest optic network in Cambodia – Iv Tek said the government has set clear policies to promote development in e-commerce, telecommunications and information technology.
“We have to take into consideration users in rural areas, who do not have access to digital services,” he said.
He added that CFOCN currently has a connected fibre optic network spanning more than 24,000km throughout the Kingdom, which will allow the government to promote the use of 5G technologies when they arrive next year.
