Ezecom company Telcotech yesterday hosted a press conference on Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT) progress at the Cambodiana hotel, where it was announced that marine operations are to start for the MCT submarine fibre optic cable.

The MCT cable system was made known to public in June 2013, and is currently expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2017. This cable system passes through an extensive 1,300 kilometres of the three countries, enabling Cambodia to harvest the Asian traffic and extend the connectivity to ASEAN and the rest of the globe via Malaysia.

In short, Cambodia will be the primary gateway to Asia.

The system makes use of landing stations, of which Cambodia’s is in Sihanoukville, while Malaysia’s is in Kuantan (Cherating), and at Rayong for Thailand. At present, the cable system is being transferred to the Main Lay Vessel – Bold Maverick – and will follow immediate deployment from Cherating.

Adopting a state-of-the-art 100 Gbps technology and supporting a capacity of at least 30 Tbps, the MCT submarine cable will connect to other submarine cable systems, including Telcotech – the only Cambodian member of the Asia-America Gateway – and the 20,000 kilometre submarine communication cable which links Southeast Asia to the USA.

“We are very excited to announce that Cambodia’s first submarine cable is about to arrive and Ezecom will be the first ISP in Cambodia to own this submarine cable. We are going to launch landing station building in Sihanouk Ville on December 16, 2016,” said Mr Yves Schaeffer, CEO of Ezecom.

How this not only improves internet speeds and overall communications, is how the collaboration with Thailand and Malaysia will allow Cambodia to have open access to licensed operators in both these countries, thus paving the way for greater efficiency and reduced tariffs for those in the region.

Mr Schaeffer also said that the MCT system will cement the future of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Cambodia as it highlights the Kingdom’s independence in telecommunications and internet connectivity, and is an encouraging push-up for the country’s overall communication capabilities.

Chairman of Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia, His Excellency Moa Chakrya, said: “On behalf of Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia, I would like to congratulate Telcotech in bringing the first submarine cable to Cambodia.”

“I believe that the arrival of MCT will generate positive impacts on telecommunication industry in Cambodia and bring about more investment flow to the country as well,” he added.