Cambodia’s Internet Boom or Digital Doom? Inside the Kingdom’s Connected Revolution
Cambodia has over 22 million cellular subscriptions in a population of about 17 million, yielding a mobile penetration of roughly 131.5% due to multiple SIM ownership. As of early 2023, fixed internet subscriptions were about 310,000 nationwide, underscoring a mobile-first connectivity pattern. Cambodia’s first submarine cable, the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand link, landed in 2017, and a Hong Kong–Sihanoukville upgrade planned for 2024 will add 640 km of undersea fiber within Cambodian territory. The core backbone is operated by Telecom Cambodia, Viettel/Metfone, and CFOCN, with 38 licensed ISPs and five fiber-infrastructure operators reported in 2023. In early 2023 about 11.37 million Cambodians were