DPA
Phnom Penh - The number of mobile phones in use in Cambodia rose to 6.3 million units last year, up from 3.8 million in 2008, national media reported Wednesday.
The jump came as the cost of the phones have dropped in the South-East Asian country. So Khun, posts and telecommunications minister, credited competition among nine foreign-owned mobile phone companies for the nearly two-thirds rise.
"Now even people in rural areas are buying phones," So Khun told the Cambodia Daily newspaper.
So Khun said his ministry last year issued the last licence available for the GSM spectrum, which is used by mobile phones. The licence went to Metfone, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese military.
"I hope more companies aren't coming since we don't have any more GSM frequency," he said.
Cambodia's population of 15 million means that mobile phone penetration remained below 50 per cent, far less than neighbouring nations, which is why operators are confident they can expanddespite the overcrowded market.
The country has only around 40,000 fixed phone lines.
Earlier this year, the government stepped in to prevent price-gouging by some operators, who were accused of selling airtime below cost to gain subscribers.
The jump came as the cost of the phones have dropped in the South-East Asian country. So Khun, posts and telecommunications minister, credited competition among nine foreign-owned mobile phone companies for the nearly two-thirds rise.
"Now even people in rural areas are buying phones," So Khun told the Cambodia Daily newspaper.
So Khun said his ministry last year issued the last licence available for the GSM spectrum, which is used by mobile phones. The licence went to Metfone, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese military.
"I hope more companies aren't coming since we don't have any more GSM frequency," he said.
Cambodia's population of 15 million means that mobile phone penetration remained below 50 per cent, far less than neighbouring nations, which is why operators are confident they can expanddespite the overcrowded market.
The country has only around 40,000 fixed phone lines.
Earlier this year, the government stepped in to prevent price-gouging by some operators, who were accused of selling airtime below cost to gain subscribers.
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monkees at a circus.
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