Cambodia Launches Satellite TV Network
Many Americans probably haven’t given Cambodia a great deal of thought since the 1984 film The Killing Fields, though memories of that epic tale of survival against incredible odds were likely rekindled by the recent death of its real life protagonist, Dith Pran, of pancreatic cancer.
But Cambodia, thankfully, has changed dramatically since the days of the Khmer Rouge. Like much of Asia, it’s been experiencing tremendous economic growth:
GDP growth is expected to average about 9.3% in 2007 and 2008,propelled by a continued expansion of agricultural output and sustained activity in garment exports, tourism, construction, transport and communications,and real estate.
That projected growth in communications was made real on April 3rd, with the announcement of the launch of Cambodia’s first satellite television network:
PHNOM PENH, April 3 (Xinhua) — The national Television of Kampuchea (TVK) and the Cambodian DTV Network Limited (CDN), a branch of the Shin Satellite Company from Thailand, here on Thursday launched Techo-DTV, the first satellite TV network of Cambodia.
"From now on, people in all the corners of Cambodia will be able to watch all programs of our TV networks easily through this satellite TV network," said Khieu Kahnarith, Cambodian government spokesman and Minister of Information….
Dumrong Kasemset, Chief of Executive for the Shin Satellite Company, said that the main benefit of Techo-DTV service includes digital quality of picture and sound similar to that of DVD and convenience to install at every location of houses and buildings.
The DTV service sells [for] 75 U.S. dollars with satellite dish and antenna.
Urban Cambodian people can now access cable TV networks, while about 20 percent of the 14 million population in remote places can’t access TV service. Satellite TV will be their solution if they can afford it.
The new network marks continued rapid growth of satcom in Southeast Asia. Last August, we blogged about Vietnam’s first satellite, VinSat 1, which is scheduled to lift on April 19th. The $200 million satellite, owned by Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), will provide more than 200 digital television channels and tens of thousands of data transmission and telephone lines to Vietnam.
Will Cambodia be the next country in Southeast Asia to have its own satellite? It’s too soon to tell, but the recent discovery of oil in Cambodia is likely to accelerate its already respectable economic growth. Oil revenues can pay for lots of things, obviously — including entry into the satellite business, as we recently saw in Dubai.
