Australia's major telecommunications company, Telstra, has launched a Phnom Penh-based Internet service together with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Cambodia (MPTC).
Called Big Pond, the Internet services will include email and World Wide Web access, and Telstra hopes to promote the establishment of Khmer-specific discussion groups. The service will be run on an on-going basis by locally recruited staff, according to Telstra.
Currently, about 100 people have registered their interest in the service, and Telstra expects to have 250 users in the first year, says Cathy Clarke, a spokeswoman for Telstra.
The Sydney-based telecoms firm also has communications infrastructure-building partnerships in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and China, Clarke says.