• TelcoTech is proposing a regional telecom consortium with players in Thailand and Vietnam to align infrastructure and network operations
• The network operator is aiming to position itself as a key provider of data network connectivity services in South-east Asia as demand for datacentre interconnect services grows 
• It’s also seeking to offer edge datacentre facilities to hyperscalers looking to provide sovereign AI and cloud services in Cambodia 

Cambodia-based long distance fibre network operator TelcoTech is seeking to form a consortium with peers in the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Vietnam to ensure more streamlined operations between telecom players in the three countries and provide better services to customers looking for cross-border data transport services in South-east Asia. 

TelcoTech CEO Dylan Quah explains that some customers require services that need to traverse multiple countries, for example from Vietnam through Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and on to Singapore. To deliver such connectivity, “we usually buy [network capacity] from Thai and Malaysian providers and sometimes it is not in sync, leading to problems. For instance, the equipment may be from different vendors and may not talk to each other, leading to technical issues,” explained Quah, who noted that most of the company’s international business comes from companies in Vietnam. 

“I believe the formation of a consortium will be in everybody’s interest” and it will help the various interconnected network operators understand the importance of having similar technology, which will also help address issues related to network operators and service monitoring, so that a provisioned service “acts like one circuit rather than three different circuits that everybody has to manage,” he added. 

While Quah declined to identify the companies he has contacted about the formation of a consortium, he noted that he has shifted his focus from incumbent operators to new players in Thailand and Malaysia, which are still setting up their business and are likely to be open to new ideas. 

TelcoTech manages more than 30,000 kilometres of fibre, which Quah claims covers 85% of Cambodia. Primarily, its business is focused on providing wholesale services to mobile network operators and internet service providers (ISPs). It also has a datacentre licence that enables it to build and connect datacentre facilities in Cambodia. In addition, TelcoTech has invested in a submarine cable, Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT), which spans 1,300km and, as the name suggests, connects the three countries.

The operator is part of Cambodia’s Royal Group of Companies, one of the biggest business conglomerates in the country. CellCard, one of the top-five telcos in the country, is also part of the Royal Group of Companies.  

Small market versus strategic location

One of the biggest challenges faced by TelcoTech is that Cambodia is a small market with a population of just 16 million, offering limited scope for growth. With 5G yet to launch in the country, Cambodia lags behind its neighbours in terms of data consumption as well as the maturity of its communication networks. 

However, it is strategically located between Vietnam and Thailand, opening new business opportunities. “Cambodia is very well positioned in the IndoChina region. If Vietnam needs to connect to the big datacentres, either in Singapore or Thailand, it needs to come through Cambodia. Similarly, if Thailand needs to get to Vietnam or Singapore, then it must pass through Cambodia. So that’s where our international business play is,” explained Quay. IndoChina typically refers to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, three important countries between India and China. 

While Thailand and Vietnam have attracted significant investments from hyperscalers recently, this is not the case for Cambodia. In the long term, Quay is confident that Cambodia will also attract investment from major cloud infrastructure companies and that it is preparing to capitalise on any such trend.  

“We are preparing edge datacentre [facilities] for hyperscalers,” which may have bigger operations in Thailand, for example, but which can opt to serve a small market in Cambodia via a smaller co-location agreement, said Quay. Such relationships might be required by the upcoming data sovereignty laws, which will demand processing of personal and sensitive data within the country’s borders. 

In addition, hyperscalers are likely to be interested in Cambodia once Thailand and Vietnam are fully developed. Furthermore, they may look at Cambodia to build network redundancy in the region, especially as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) grows. 

TelcoTech is also expanding its presence in Vietnam, especially in the datacentre interconnect (DCI) services segment, and has recently partnered with China Unicom to build a new network route that connects China, Laos and Cambodia.

– Gagandeep Kaur, contributing editor, TelecomTV