Regulator set to launch next month

An autonomous and independent regulatory authority for Cambodia’s telecoms industry, separate from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Cambodia (MPTC), is expected to launch next month, reports the Phnom Penh Post. The Telecom Regulator of Cambodia (TRC), which was approved in a sub-decree by Prime Minister Hun Sen in February 2012, will assume the responsibility for promoting fair competition in the market, the licensing of operators, spectrum management, interconnection regulation, universal access, monitoring and regulating tariffs, and numbering, among other things. There is currently no overarching telecoms law in Cambodia; in its absence the sector is governed by decrees and sub-decrees issued by the MPTC and the prime minister’s office. The TRC aims to make rules clearer and more transparent in a bid to prevent disputes between operators on issues such as pricing and overlapping frequencies.