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Cambodia’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Chea Vandeth, has announced government plans for a submarine cable connection from Hong Kong to Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh in 2024.

It will replace an earlier version – much earlier; it was connected more than a decade ago.

The funding for the new submarine cable will involve a loan from the Chinese government. In ten years’ time, the minister suggested during his announcement, the sale of internet services  will repay the entirety of the loan. The project is to be implemented for 30 years, “so in addition to repaying the loan, we will make a profit”, he added. 

In addition to connecting the submarine cable, he said that the telecommunications ministry is working to install up to 1,000 internet expansion antenna masts in several of Phnom Penh’s districts. It will also dismantle internet booster and repeater devices, which the ministry considers disruptive to internet speed.

As you might expect, Cambodian demand for internet services increased dramatically following the Covid-19 pandemic and yet the country has been dependent on infrastructure that was connected up to 15 years ago. Making Cambodia’s internet services faster and cheaper is certain to be popular, therefore.

According to figures cited by the Phnom Penh Post, as of February, Cambodia had more than 17 million registered SIM cards (a little more than the population, estimated at 16,891,245) and more than 310,000 fixed internet users. 

The country has 38 internet service providers, and five onshore and submarine fibre optic infrastructure operators. There are an estimated 640 kilometres of submarine fibre optic cable in Cambodian waters.

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The new Nokia Middle East and Africa (MEA) Mobile Broadband Index research report is out. It confirms that the Middle East is far ahead of Africa in terms of 5G adoption, and that many operators in Africa are still developing their business models around 4G.

Voice traffic still relies on 2G and 3G networks in many parts of the region.

That said, 5G is forecast to increase steadily and will contribute to the growth of the mobile broadband subscriber base, which is expected to grow with a CAGR of 6% in MEA.

According to the report, 4G networks in MEA account for 79% of overall data traffic today. However, by 2027, 4G and 5G will together account for 90% of data traffic. In the same year, 4G subscribers will reach 1,214 million (53% of total subscribers) whereas 5G adoption is estimated to reach 380 million subscribers (17% of the total).

Yearly ARPU is estimated to increase at US$3.4 in 2027, and total data traffic is expected to increase at a CAGR of 32% from 2022 to 2027.

The report shows that in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, 5G adoption is the fastest, and that 5G subscribers are expected to reach 75% by 2027, mainly driven by Saudi Arabia.

In non-GCC Middle Eastern countries, and in Africa, 4G will continue to expand and remain dominant until 2027, while 5G deployment is at a nascent stage today and poised to gain more and more momentum over the coming years.

The report suggests that 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) in the GCC countries and 4G FWA in the rest of the MEA region are among the most attractive use cases, with a significant opportunity for operators to drive incremental revenues.

It also argues that 5G networks are more energy-efficient than previous radio network generations, helping operators reach their sustainability targets.

As promised earlier this year, South African operator Rain is no longer a data-only service provider. It is now part of the country’s highly competitive mobile network space, joining Vodacom, MTN and Telkom with a network offering national voice, SMS and data coverage.

Rain has in fact launched a new 4G mobile network with high-definition voice calls (using VoLTE), data, SMS and national 4G mobile coverage. The company already offers data-only 5G – in fact it was the country’s first entrant into the 5G market.

Bringing together a national 4G mobile network and its extensive data-only 5G network, Rain says it is now combining home and phone into one plan, through which customers can connect all their devices with one monthly bill.

The plan, branded rainOne, includes unlimited 5G home Wi-Fi, plus free monthly calls and data for two phones, each with 2GB of free data and 60 minutes of free, high-definition voice calls every month— without any long-term contracts. 

Customers with rainOne can seamlessly port their existing number and use Rain mobile as their primary SIM, with national 4G mobile coverage. 5G customers of Rain can upgrade to rainOne for the same price as their current plans and benefit from mobile SIMs and free monthly calls and data for two phones at no extra cost.

Given that the company is entering a competitive market, it’s worth noting the words of its CEO Brandon Leigh, quoted in the South African press. He says: “Now customers have another option for mobile services from a provider that has already established a strong reputation in the home internet market. The expansion of Rain’s network, in terms of 5G coverage and spectrum acquisition, indicates that we are serious about being a major player in the mobile market as well.”

Rain certainly seems confident. Of course, the company has been in the home internet market since 2018 – and a 5G provider since 2019. Today it covers over 7 million households.

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