Telcotech fibre-optic cable to go live by year-end

Cambodia’s connection to a high bandwidth fibre-optic cable linking Southeast Asia to the US is expected to go live before the end of this year, writes local daily the Phnom Penh Post, citing sources close to the matter. Cambodian operator Telcotech plans to synchronise the cable’s launch with the switching on of the 20,000km Asia-America Gateway (AAG) network, with a lag time of less than a month for testing and integration. The country’s original representative, Pacific Communications decided against having a direct connection to the AAG, but was later replaced by Telcotech in October 2007. As a consortium member, Telcotech has the right to access connectivity from any landing point through a backhaul agreement with other consortium members, and will initially access the network through landing stations in Vietnam and Thailand. Telcotech has completed a fibre-optic backbone to provide bandwidth to major towns and cities across the country and is building a second cross-country network. A second connection from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville has also been finished, which can be extended underwater to connect to landing points of the AAG in countries other than Vietnam and Thailand.