Telecom Regulator Wants SIM Card Guarantee
Cambodia’s telecommunications regulator has called on seven mobile network operators to give an assurance by September 1 that they have registered all their subscribers in accordance with a directive from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication and the Ministry of Interior.
Im Vutha, spokesman for the Telecom Regulator of Cambodia, said yesterday the TRC and the General Department of National Police had given operators a deadline of March 22 last year to register all their users to “prevent social disorder”.
“To this, all mobile companies now must provide a letter of guarantee that they have actually carried out this requirement 100 percent,” said Vutha. The seven operators include Cellcard, Smart, Metfone, CADCOMMS, Seatel, EMAXX and CooTel.
“We want an assurance for all the seven mobile operators that their retailers are not selling SIM cards without collecting identification documents and are complying with the directive from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Interior,” added Vutha.
Vutha said after September 1, the National Police, in cooperation with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the TRC, will take “strict” action to ensure compliance with the directive. “By September 1, all mobile operators have to also give a guarantee that they have deactivated or deleted from the system those subscribers’ numbers that don’t have identification,” he said.
Telecom Cambodia earned $18.6 million in 2016 with a net profit of $1 million, marking a turnaround for the state-run enterprise which lost $724,746 the previous year. The change in fortunes was due to the increase in the number of customers, particularly internet users.
Unaudited total income in 2016 was $18.6 million, of which $8.5 million came from transit fees, one of its six main services, according to a Telecom Cambodia report. Net unaudited profit was $1.05 million. Transit fees are charged for connecting people to the networks of other service providers.