Cellcard, part of the Royal Group of Companies, on Wednesday signed a major framework agreement with ZTE Corporation for the introduction of 5G, as well as to increase 4G coverage and capacity across Cambodia.

The signing ceremony was presided over by Royal Group chairman Neak Oknha Kith Meng and ZTE Southeast Asia managing director of engineering and services Song Chaojun, with senior management from both companies in attendance.

The agreement comes at a crucial time for Cellcard and Royal Group as they formalise plans for rolling out 5G and evolving 4G LTE coverage and quality.

The agreement covers a significant financial investment that will position Cambodia as a one of the leading nations in the region for 5G adoption.

Cellcard, the only Cambodian-owned operator in the Kingdom and the longest serving with 24 years of operations, has long advocated its 5G intentions to bring to fruition the chairman of the Royal Group’s vision of a fully digitalised Cambodia.

Neak Oknha Kith Meng’s vision directly supports the Royal Government’s agenda for Industry 4.0 to support the growth of the economy and the Kingdom’s GDP, and to empower all Cambodians to benefit from the advantages of living in a digital society.

Guests attend the signing ceremony in the capital on Wednesday.

Royal Group’s ICT Division of Cellcard, Wing Money and Ezecom as well as broadcasting operations CBS and Digital Sky are in close collaboration on a shared digital strategy for Cambodia.

The strategy will see a full transformation of the ICT sector as the role of connectivity, data, content and security in people’s everyday lives changes with the introduction of 5G and the large-scale adoption of technologies such as the “Internet of Things” (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Neak Oknha Kith Meng said Cellcard together with the ICT Division’s operations would ensure the introduction of 5G in Cambodia would be of great humanitarian impact, improving healthcare, education and security for all, and help drive a strong Cambodian economy into the future.