Conflict between two phone operators has yet to be solved and Beeline is still the subject of a $2.5 million suit currently before Phnom Penh Municipal Court- $1.5million in damages and $1million compensation to Mobitel.

Beeline’s General Director- Gael Campan, said that the relation between the two phone operators were back to normal after Mobitel filed a lawsuit against Beeline last year.

Nguyen Duy Tho was quoted by the Post as saying that “currently, we are testing 3G to prepare for an official launching of this service in 2010.”

Nguyen Duy Tho gave Viettel’s ambitious targets for Cambodia in the longer term. The Vietnamese operator is aiming to capture 40 percent of the overall mobile market, 80 percent of the broadband Internet market and 80 percent of the telecoms landline market, the paper continued.

In September, Beeline accused leading phone operator, MobiTel, of blocking calls from its network to MobiTel’s customers, and in turn MobiTel accused Beeline of charging calling price below &0.06 for between-network calls.

Prime Minister Hun Send issued a letter by warning mobile phone service providers that they could face the loss of their operating license if they still continue to block between-network calls and to give below cost calls to their customers.

The Cambodia Daily quoted Simon Perkins, CEO of Hello network as saying that his company had receive a copy of the directive and was still determining its exact meaning. But he added that he understood the minimum price for between-network calls to be $0.07 and pricing on in-network calls to be &0.05.

Leading mobile phone service provider, MobiTel, last month accused Russian phone firm, Beeline, of giving below cost calls and of the irresponsible business practice of price dumping. And Beeline accused MobiTel of blocking calling within interconnectivities.

“The Royal Government will take strict action against any telecommunications operator who does not respect this order and still continue to block cross network connections or competes dishonestly leading to chaos in Cambodia’s telecommunications market,” read the premier’s letter.

So far, there are 9 phone operators with more than 4 million users in Cambodia’s phone market.

It is the third government intervention in the last month for concerning pricing and interconnection issues in the telecoms sector.

Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon and Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun issued a letter dated September 29 ordering the phone companies to stop any unfair promotions or interconnection problems that could bring crisis to the telecoms industry.

The pricing war between mobile phone firms occurred in the ongoing several months. Leading mobile phone service provider, MobiTel, strongly criticized newest competitor ‘Beeline’ of irresponsible business practices because the company has charged customers only 5 cent a minute for calls between networks after Beeline launched ‘Boom’ tariff. And then MobiTel also refused to continue the process of the cross-network connectivity.

In responding, Beeline announced the full-page ads in local newspapers saying that “contrary to media speculation” it had met its obligations of the agreement- which also required MobiTel to stop blocking cross-network connectivity, by stop taking new users on its “Boom” tariff from September 01.

Other phone service providers, however, also said that in keeping pricing at $0.05 per minute for existing customers on the controversial “Boom” tariff “forever”, Beeline had effectively failed to abide by its agreement.

Russian Telco Vimpelcom Group, which runs Cambodia’s newest mobile operator Beeline through local subsidiary Sotelco, saw its shares reach their highest level this year at US$19.05 by the end of trading on Nasadaq exchange in New York.

MobiTel held a 55 percent share of the phone market at the end of last year while Axiata’s Hello, the No 3 operator, had a 15 percent market share.

Five mobile phone operators, including MobiTel, Hello, Smart Mobile, qb and Mfone sent letter dated September 3 to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTCO) requesting urgent action, by accusing Beeline of violating an August 14 promise to raise cross network tariff from US0.05 to $0.06 per minute.

“The issue of Beeline’s cross-network pricing had concerned most of the sector – as had blocked interconnectivity – but that it was still unclear what legal redress could be used in Cambodia’s increasingly competitive and complex mobile sector,” the Phnom Post quoted Smart Mobile’s CEO Thomas Hundt as saying.

In order to handle the ongoing dispute between mobile operators MobiTel and Beeline firms over alleged price-dumping and blocking of interconnection, Ministry of Posts have created a temporary task force chaired by Secretary of State Sarak Khan.

Telecommunication sector has experienced quick growth, particularly in the mobile phone field, where there are more than 4 million of phone’s users so far. And the state earns not less than US$30 million per year.

Opposition party’s lawmaker, Son Chhay, sent September 14 letter, signed off by President of National Assembly, to the Minister of Post and Telecommunication demanding an explanation of the ongoing battle between telecom firms, MobiTel and Beeline. He also said that some officials of the ministries of Telecommunications and Finance protect the business of companies and possible personal interests in the telecom sector.

At the present, there are nine licensed mobile phone companies (Mobitel, Mfone, Hello, Starcell, qb, Viettel, Smart Mobile, Excell and Beeline) and three table mobile phone companies in Cambodia (Telecom Cambodia, Camshin, and Cammintel of the State).

At the mean time, people also expressed fear that mobile phone towers set up on high-rise building or on the ground cause health problems such as headache, causing infertility. Especially, they are afraid that during rainy season, those towers attract lightening.

In answering to the concerned issues, Workshop about “mobile phone technology and its effects” was held by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Experts from different telecommunication companies participating in the workshop confirmed that when setting mobile phone tower systems, each company always sets up lightening rods, devices against lightening strikes, and the effect on the people is minimal.

Beeline is the first mobile operator in Cambodia to offer the “GPRS without setting” service which will be available to all its subscribers and they can enjoy using the internet and receive calls without interruption at the same time.

In the last few months, Minister of Information announced that all advertising platforms from billboard to newspapers stop the dissemination of mobile phone advertisement that prompt clients to use and talk by phone for a long time because of the large numbers of mobile phone advertisements. By the way, the statement read “the content of these advertisements are concerning parents that their children do not have enough time to study.”