MCT Submarine Cable Launch Promises Bright Future for Cambodia

Telcotech, a subsidiary of EZECOM, and partners - Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad and Symphony Communication of Thailand - celebrated the momentous launching of the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT) Submarine Cable System and Landing Station in Cambodia. Huawei Marine, a global submarine network solution provider, was contracted to design and deploy the system.

The historical event, attended by Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, High representative of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. TRAM Iv Tek, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, as well as numerous other local and international VIPs, marks the beginning of a new era of improved and secured Internet connection for Cambodia and related countries.

Samdech Krolahom applauded and congratulated the companies and institutions involved and said he was eager to “experience the improved speed” and hope the people of Cambodia will share with him in enjoying faster, more affordable and more secure Internet.

Speaking during the event, Mr. Paul Blanche-Horgan, CEO of EZECOM, said, “we’ve been waiting a long time for this. We started this project six years ago, and in 2017, everything has finally come together – it’s like a dream come true.”

“Probably most important is the impact of the cable on the security of our Internet connection. With this cable, we are now directly connected POP to POP, which means a much more secure connection for Cambodia. This is of great importance, as Samdech Krolahom does understand, for the context of national security as well as certain key sectors like banking,” he added.

Samdech Krolahom Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said, “Today marks a historic achievement for Cambodia in the field of ICT and telecommunications. I am proud of the amazing efforts from all the stakeholders that have worked hard for many years to bring this project to fruition. Thanks to the MCT Submarine Cable, Cambodia now has faster, more reliable, more affordable and, most importantly, a more secure Internet connection for all. This milestone accomplishment clearly signals the stability and confidence that Cambodia enjoys today. I am sure it will help to drive our continually growing economy, and further strengthen our position in ASEAN and in the world.”

Commenting on this achievement Rozaimy Rahman, Executive Vice President, Global Wholesale, TM, said, “Malaysia, particularly TM is truly proud to be part of yet another esteemed regional project and to be given the opportunity to partner with Telcotech of Cambodia and Symphony Communication of Thailand in connecting the region. The completion of MCT submarine cable system marks another major milestone for TM as the regional managed wholesale player towards enhancing the ASEAN connectivity.”

Mirroring the same sentiment, Mr. Teerarat Pantarasutra, President of Symphony Communication Public Company Limited of Thailand, said, “We are very proud of being a part of MCT Submarine Cable System as it is Thailand’s 1st Submarine Cable System invested by private company. This is a very big and high potential for telecommunication in Thailand due to it will help enhance SYMPHONY COMMUNICATION’s service potential for both domestic and international connectivity and promoting telecommunication of Thailand and Asian countries. I believe that Thailand will achieve maximum benefit from this as it helps increasing service demand from our clients to other countries and supporting the Digital Economy Policy of our government as well. And for our region, I can foresee the continuous growth of telecommunication needs so MCT will enhance the huge capacity of connection is Asian.”

Mr. Mike Constable, CEO of Huawei Marine, said, “It is a proud moment for our company to be involved in landing the very first submarine cable into Cambodia and facilitating the economic growth prospects international high-speed connectivity provides. We have deployed the latest technology on this system and successfully delivered the project on time through the challenges of the monsoon season, which exemplifies HMN’s project management capabilities. I would like to congratulate our partners, Telcotech, Telekom Malaysia and Symphony Communications and applaud their vision to develop this important infrastructure for the region.

MCT cable system spans approximately 1,300 kilometers and adopts state-of-the-art 100 Gbps technology and will support a capacity of at least 30 Tbps. The MCT submarine cable will connect to other submarine cable systems, including Telcotech – the only Cambodian member of the Asia-America Gateway – and the 20,000 kilometer submarine communication cable which links Southeast Asia to the USA.

The system makes use of landing stations, of which Cambodia’s landing station called “Mittapheap Landing Station” is located at Otres Beach in Sihanoukville, while Malaysia’s is in Kuantan [Cherating], and at Rayong for Thailand. Analysts have predicted that the MCT submarine cable will generate positive impacts on telecommunication industry in Cambodia and bring about more investment flow to the country as well.