Beeline follows 'Boom' with zero-cents tariff

Beeline follows 'Boom' with zero-cents tariff  


MOBILE operator Beeline has launched an aggressive new pricing plan from today in which customers will only be charged for the first minute of any calls they make of up to 15 minutes' duration within the Beeline network.

Under the "Super Zero" plan, the per-minute charge will kick in again after 15 minutes, while calls across networks will be charged at US$0.06 per minute, compared with $0.05 per minute at all times on all networks on the controversial "Boom" plan, Beeline Commercial Director Benoin Janin told a press conference Friday.

SIM cards will be available for just $0.50 under a promotion running until December 31, though the Super Zero tariff will continue for already-qualified users indefinitely, or until the company changes its pricing policy.

The new pricing policy had been planned as part of the company's expansion strategy - Beeline will extend coverage to eight new provinces this month - General Director Gael Campan told the Post last week, but it comes amid an ongoing feud with market leader Cellcard Mobitel over pricing and connectivity across networks.

Campan said Friday that the new pricing structure was "more aggressive" than the Boom plan at the heart of the Mobitel dispute. Under the Boom plan, calls within and across networks were charged at $0.05 per minute, below the $0.0595 cost that industry officials say networks incur for one-minute domestic calls to other networks.

Mobitel and other operators say the Boom policy amounted to price dumping, and Beeline has in turn accused Mobitel of blocking calls from its service to Mobitel subscribers.

Mark Hanna, chief financial controller of Royal Group, which has a stake in Mobitel, told the Post last week that technicians were still working to connect Beeline to Mobitel, but added that it was unlikely to finish the job while the pricing dispute continued.

Campan said Friday he hoped to resolve the dispute, but added that the connectivity issue would not help Mobitel in the long run.

"It is a very fragmented market right now, and nobody has the majority of subscribers," he said.

"Mobitel is not the biggest part of the market; the majority of subscribers are with the other operators. We want to work with them as much as possible, and if Mobitel does not want to give their subscribers access to Beeline customers, it's their problem, not ours."

Beeline announced last week that Takeo, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Kompong Thom, Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Kampot and Prey Veng provinces would be connected to its network one by one between September 2 and September 24.

Campan said the expansion of coverage to 18 provinces, which together account for 64 percent of the country's population, combined with the new pricing policy would remove any more "excuses" people might have for not joining Beeline. "We are adding benefits for customers by reducing the within-network tariff and encouraging them to bring more of their families to join us," he said.

Cambodia Technical Director Rodrigo Araujo said the company was sharing towers with other operators, which he said was "a completely new approach for Cambodia".

The network equipment, provided by Huawei of China, contains batteries to keep services running even in the event of electricity outages.
Beeline is owned by Sotelco, the local subsidiary of Russian telco Vimpelcom Group. Source: the phnom penh post

Trade body seen as key to exploring new markets

 
Trade body seen as key to exploring new markets



Cambodian officials are eyeing membership of a regional trade body involving China and India as part of efforts to reduce the country's reliance on traditional export markets in the United States and Europe.

Senior government minister Ly Thuch said the Ministry of Commerce was well advanced in discussions with member countries of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA).

"Joining APTA will help us integrate further in the Asia-Pacific region as well as give us more access to the most dynamic markets in Asia," he said, referring specifically to India, China and South Korea.

APTA, previously known as the Bangkok Agreement, is a preferential tariff arrangement signed in 1975 as an initiative of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to promote intra-regional trade through concessions between member countries.

It is open to all developing ESCAP member countries, but only China, India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Laos and Sri Lanka have joined. Members are currently participating in the fourth round of tariff concessions, which are expected to conclude in October 2009. Ministry of Commerce Undersecretary of State Em Sophoan said admission would help Cambodia boost exports. "If we join with APTA, we can cut down trade barriers and open big markets among the member countries," he said.

Marc Proksch, an economic affairs officer in ESCAP's Trade Policy Section, agreed, saying regional cooperation was necessary to reduce Asia's reliance on struggling export markets in the West. Source: the phnom penh post

Mou Sokhuo doesn't negotiate with the government over her immunity

Mrs. Mu Sochua raised a lit candle during a press conference held the SRP headquarters in Phnom Pen on 04 August 2009 (Photo: Zakariya, RFA)04 August 2009ZakariyaRadio Free AsiaTranslated from Khmer by SocheataClick here to read the article in KhmerOn 04 August, Mrs. Mu Sochua indicated that she and the SRP still maintain their stance of not negotiating with the government in exchange for the return of her parliamentary immunity.Mrs. Mu Sochua made this declaration during a press conference at the SRP headquarters following the announcement of her verdict in Phnom Penh. The press conference was attended by both national and international reporters. Mrs. Mu Sochua commented that she is asking for an end to the culture of begging for pardon from the government, and she would rather see that the court provides justice to her instead.Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “The judge said that Mrs. Kong Sam Onn [Mu Sochua’s former defense lawyer] was let go because he begged for pardon. As for me, if it is done according to the law, the [guilty] verdict should be handed down to the guilty party. The verdict should be done according to the law, not according the begging for pardon.”Clash between cops and Mrs. Mu Sochua’s supportersFollowing the guilty verdict handed down to Mrs. Mu Sochua, and the 16.5 million riels fine imposed on her, opposition leader Sam Rainsy and a number of other SRP MPs, as well as about 200 other people started to march from the Phnom Penh municipal court to the SRP headquarters. During the march, a brawl took place with armed cops along the marching route and violence took place to oppose the march.Sam Rainsy condemned the hundreds of cops who used violence on the peaceful march, calling the cop action a serious violation of human rights.Sam Rainsy said: “They do not allow people to use their rights, this action is condemned by freedom-loving people and by democratic people.”Ho Sirin, a SRP activist, was beaten by the cops when he was trying to protect Mrs. Mu Sochua during the police brawl. He said: “The cops pushed Mrs. Mu Sochua, I pushed one of them out, he was angry with me and he kicked me. The cops came back to her again, I pushed them back again, then about 20-30 cops came to strangle me.”Ong Yentieng, government spokesman and chairman of the government human right commits, declined not comment in this brawl case. He indicated that he was busy in a meeting. RFA could not reach any other government officials to obtain clarification on this issue.A joint SRP and HRP statement was issued, it rejected the verdict handed down to Mrs. Mu Sochua by the PPenh municipal court on 04 August.In this statement, the opposition parties also called on the international community to continue paying attention and to follow up on the situation in order to prevent the use of the defamation [lawsuit] and the judicial system to crack down critics. The opposition also called on the international community to push the government to apply with fruitful results the judicial reform and it must also force the government to apply all the principles of plural democracy.