Cambodia goes 3G as MobiTel drops video phone porn facility

In our report on 7th June (Cambodia 3G ban astounds Phone Industry) we reported on the reasons behind Cambodia's 3G ban.

Now we can report that MobiTel, which is a major player in Cambodian telecoms with over a million mobile users, can go ahead with bringing 3G to Cambodia , as it has abandoned its plan to incorporate a video-phone facility which could have allowed pornographic images to be viewed inside the country.

 Chief opponent of the video-phone was the wife of Camdodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen. Mrs Bun Rany lobbied her husband to ban the facility, on the grounds of moral danger to the Cambodian populace. This prohibition on video-phone utilisation has now been implemented by So Khun, the Telecoms Minister.

For the morally victorious there may be one snag. MobiTel's General Manager is David Spriggs, who remains sceptical about the decision. He points out that 3G allows unlimited Internet access. In other words, porn is still available on people's computer screens despite the video-phone ban. Just don't tell Mrs Rany...

 More info:

• www.mobitel.cm.kh