Telecommunications in Cambodia include telephone,
radio, television, and Internet services, which are regulated by the Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications. Transport and posts were restored
throughout most of the country in the early 1980s during the People's Republic of Kampuchea regime
after being disrupted under the Khmer Rouge.
In January 1987, the Soviet-aided Intersputnik space
communications station began operation in Phnom Penh and
established two-way telecommunication links between the Cambodian capital and
the cities of Moscow, Hanoi, Vientiane and Paris. The completion of
the earth satellite station restored the telephone and telex links among Phnom
Penh, Hanoi,
and other countries for the first time since 1975. Although telecommunications
services were initially limited to the government, these advances in
communications helped break down the country's isolation, both internally and
internationally.
Today, with the availability of mobile phones,
communications are open to all, though the country's Prime Minister Hun Sen decreed
that 3G mobile phones would
not be allowed to support video calling.
Telephones
The government state communications corporation is Telecom
Cambodia, founded in 2006 as an expansion of the telecom operating
department of the Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications.
Fixed line service in Phnom Penh and
other provincial cities is available. Mobile-phone systems are widely used in
urban areas to bypass deficiencies in the fixed-line network. Mobile phone
coverage is rapidly expanding in rural areas. Mobile-cellular usage, aided by
increasing competition among service providers, is increasing.[1]
International calling access is adequate, but expensive.
Fixed line and mobile service is available to all countries from Phnom Penh and
major provincial cities.[1]
List of mobile
networks
Network
|
Company
|
Notes
|
Smart
|
Smart Axiata Co., Ltd
|
·
Incorporates the former Hello Axiata and Star-Cell
|
Mobitel
|
CamGSM Co., Ltd.
|
·
Also known as Cellcard
·
Incorporates the former Mfone
|
CooTel
|
Xinwei (Cambodia) Telecom Co., Ltd
|
|
South East Asia Telecom (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.
|
·
Incorporates the former GT-TEL
|
|
Metfone
|
Viettel (Cambodia) Pte., Ltd.
|
·
Incorporates the former Beeline
|
qb
|
Cambodia Advance Communications Co., Ltd. (CADCOMMS)
|
In 2009 Cambodian broadcasters were a mixture of
state-owned, joint public-private, and privately owned companies.[1]
In 2009 there were roughly 50 radio broadcast stations -
1 state-owned broadcaster with multiple stations and a large mixture of public
and private broadcasters. Several international broadcasters are also
available.[1]
·
Apsara Radio FM 97
·
DAP Radio FM 93.75
·
Family FM 99.5
·
Hang Meas Radio FM 104.5
·
Koh Santepheap Daily FM 87.75
·
National Radio Kampuchea
·
Phnom Penh Radio FM 103
·
Radio FM 90.5
·
Radio Beehive FM 105
·
DaunPenh eFM 87.50Mhz
·
ABC News FM 107.5
|
·
Radio Khmer FM 107
·
Radio Love FM 97.5
·
Radio Town FM 102.3 MHz
·
Raksmey Hang Meas Radio FM 95.7000
·
Royal Cambodia Armed Forces Radio FM 98
·
Voice of America Khmer
·
Women's Media Centre of Cambodia (WMC)
Radio FM 102
|
There are radio stations in each of the following
provinces: Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampot, Kandal, Pailin, Preah Vihear, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Svay Rieng.
Television
In 2009 there were 9 TV broadcast stations with most
operating on multiple channels, including 1 state-operated station broadcasting
from multiple locations, 6 stations either jointly operated or privately owned
with some broadcasting from several locations, and 2 TV relay stations - one
relaying a French TV station and the other relaying a Vietnamese TV station.
Multi-channel cable and satellite systems are also available.[1]
Broadcast and
cable networks
·
PNN TV
·
Apsara Television (TV11)
·
Bayon News Television
·
Cambodia Cable Television (CCTV)
·
Cambodian News Channel (CNC)
·
Cambodian Television Network (CTN)
·
CTV 8 HD
·
Hang Meas HDTV
|
·
Khmer Television 9 HDTV (TV9 HDTV)
·
My TV
·
National Television of Cambodia (TVK)
·
One TV (Royal Media Entertainment Corporation, LTD)
·
Phnom Penh Municipal Cable Television (PPCTV Co., LTD)
·
Phnom Penh Television (TV3)
|
Provincial
television stations
·
Kandal
Province - Broadcasting on channel 27, Bayon Television is
Cambodia's only UHF channel. A private television
company belonging to Prime Minister Hun Sen,
it also operates Bayon Radio FM 95 MHz. It was established in January
1998.
·
Mondulkiri -
Established in 1999, relays TVK on channel 10.
·
Preah Vihear - Established in 2006,
broadcasts on channel 7.
·
Ratanakiri -
Established in 1993, relays TVK on channel 7.
·
Siem Reap -
Established in 2002, relays TV3 on channel 12.
Internet
During 2012 Internet access was somewhat available to
the people of Cambodia, particularly in urban centers, and some 50 percent of
Cambodians were able to access the Internet through their mobile phones,
according to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.[10]
·
Internet
Users: 738,641 users, 122nd in the world; 4.9 per 100 persons, 187th in the
world (2012)[2]
·
Fixed
broadband: 30,653 subscriptions, 121st in the world; 0.2 per 100 persons, 158th
in the world (2012)[11]
·
Mobile
broadband: 1,032,781 subscriptions, 70th in the world; 6.9 subscriptions per
100 persons, 100th in the world (2012)[12]
List of Internet service providers
Internet
censorship and surveillance
In its Freedom on the Net 2013 report, Freedom House gives
Cambodia a "Freedom on the Net Status" of "partly free".
Compared to traditional media in Cambodia, new media,
including online news, social networks and personal blogs, enjoy more freedom
and independence from government censorship and restrictions. However, the
government does proactively block blogs and websites, either on moral grounds,
or for hosting content deemed critical of the government. The government
restricts access to sexually explicit content, but does not systematically
censor online political discourse. Since 2011 three blogs hosted overseas have
been blocked for perceived antigovernment content. In 2012, government
ministries threatened to shutter internet cafes too near schools—citing moral
concerns—and instituted surveillance of cafe premises and cell phone
subscribers as a security measure.[13]
Early in 2011, very likely at the urging of the Ministry
of Posts and Telecommunications, all Cambodian ISPs blocked the hosting
service Blogspot,
apparently in reaction to a December 2010 post on KI-Media, a blog run by
Cambodians from both inside and outside the country. The site, which is often
critical of the administration, described the prime minister and other
officials as "traitors" after opposition leader Sam Rainsy alleged
they had sold land to Vietnam at a contested national border. All ISPs but one
subsequently restored service to the sites following customer complaints. In
February 2011, however, multiple ISPs reinstated blocks on individual Blogspot
sites, including KI-Media, Khmerization—another critical citizen journalist
blog—and a blog by the Khmer political cartoonist Sacrava.[13]
There are no government restrictions on access to the
Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet
chat rooms without appropriate legal authority. During 2012 NGOs expressed
concern about potential online restrictions. In February and November, the government
published two circulars, which, if implemented fully, would require Internet
cafes to install surveillance cameras and restrict operations within major
urban centers. Activists also reported concern about a draft “cybercrimes” law,
noting that it could be used to restrict online freedoms. The government
maintained it would only regulate criminal activity.[10]
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and
press; however, these rights were not always respected in practice. The 1995
press law prohibits prepublication censorship or imprisonment for expressing
opinions; however, the government uses the penal code to prosecute citizens on
defamation, disinformation, and incitement charges. The penal code does not
prescribe imprisonment for defamation, but does for incitement or spreading
disinformation, which carry prison sentences of up to three years. Judges also
can order fines, which may lead to jail time if not paid. The constitution
requires that free speech not adversely affect public security.[10]
The constitution declares that the king is “inviolable,”
and a Ministry of Interior directive conforming to the defamation law
reiterates these limits and prohibits publishers and editors from disseminating
stories that insult or defame government leaders and institutions. The
continued criminalization of defamation and disinformation and a broad
interpretation of criminal incitement constrains freedom of expression.
The law provides for the privacy of residence and
correspondence and prohibits illegal searches; however, NGOs report that police
routinely conduct searches and seizures without warrants.[10]
Corruption remains pervasive and governmental human
rights bodies are generally ineffective. A weak judiciary that sometimes fails
to provide due process or fair trial procedures is a serious problem. The
courts lack human and financial resources and, as a result, are not truly
independent and are subject to corruption and political influence
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