Cambodia's Smart Axiata last week switched on the nation's first LTE network in Phnom Penh, with plans to roll out the service city-wide by the second quarter.
The company, created last year through the merger of Smart Mobile and Axiata Group's Hello Mobile, said its LTE network will initially offer speeds of up to 55Mbps.
Smart Axiata is making LTE available at six sites across the city – areas the company is calling “LTE Experience Zones”. These include the international airport, a popular hotel and casino and a shopping mall.
Smart Axiata CEO Thomas Hundt said the company chose the initial locations as these are places young professionals usually gather, and young professionals are typically early adopters and power users.
“The coverage will then be enlarged in the next weeks and months to cover [the] whole [of] Phnom Penh and beyond,” he said.
Hundt said Cambodia is ready to enter the 4G era. “More than 90% of the internet connections in Cambodia are made via mobile internet and through smart phones or tablets. With the powerful smart phones of today, the consumers demand fast and smooth mobile internet,” he said.
Smart Axiata is offering a prepaid LTE data plan for $5 per month with 1GB of data, or postpaid subscribers can upgrade to LTE at no extra cost and without having to sign a new contract.