Cambodia reports 60% rise in internet users

Cambodia recorded about 2.7 million internet users as of December last year, a 60 percent rise year-on-year, a senior official said Thursday. Speaking at the annual meeting of the ministry of posts and telecommunication, secretary of state Sarak Khan said that the kingdom has 27 internet service providers serving those subscribers. "It was a sharp rise last year thanks to expanded internet infrastructure and growing knowledge on internet usage," he said. Meanwhile, he said the country has 6 mobile phone operators. As of last year, those operators had sold out 19.1 million SIM cards, exceeding the country's population of only 14.5 million. Minister of posts and telecommunication So Khun said in the meeting that the remarkable rise in internet subscriptions and mobile phone usage was thanks to good internet infrastructure, competitive service fees, and more people's awareness of internet usage. He said that some 1.7 billion U.S. dollars had been invested in building telecommunication infrastructure in the country in the last 3 years.