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 Communications Costs in Cambodia

Goals for This Page:

• To help consumers find the best service for their needs at the best price (Best Value)
• To support communication providers who offer value
• To improve the value of communications available in Cambodia

E-Mail Costs in Cambodia

This section of the site looks at three components of e-mail communications costs. These are the Cost to Begin E-Mail Service, the Total Monthly Cost of E-mail Services, and the Cost to Receive Data.

This site does not consider customer service or the ease of connection to the Provider when you dial in. Customer Service is not considered because it is difficult to describe objectively.  To find out about customer service talk to people who use the service and ask them about customer service levels.  Where is Customer Service, how do you reach them, are they helpful, can they resolve problems?

Ease of connection to the provider, and the reliability of the connection, is also very important.  I suspect that you want to spend your time creating and reading e-mail, not learning about the intricacies of Windows, telephone lines and e-mail providers.  Ask users about the time it takes to connect, the number of tries before the connection is complete, if the connection is often cut off, are there times of the day when it is more difficult to connect.

Use this information along with the information below to choose possible providers and then go  talk with the providers before you decide which one to use!

At the end of the page there are Recommendations for providers

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How to use the information on this site:

If you are on a budget, determine how much you want to spend each month and look at Total Monthly Cost to Use E-Mail Services. Look also at Cost to Begin E-Mail Service. If you want the maximum number of hours for your money or if you want to receive large amounts of data and lots of graphics look at Cost of Receiving Data.

• Select the best options from the charts.
• Consider customer service and service access.
• Talk to friends who use the Provider and talk to the service staff.
• Choose a provider.

Bold denotes a good value.  Blue denotes an exceptional value.

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Cost to Begin E-Mail Service

This chart shows the cost to begin e-mail service with five Cambodian E-Mail Service Providers. Blue shows installation cost, Red shows the recurring fixed monthly fee. A Connection Fee is required to begin service: BigPond - $80, Camintel $30 & CamNet - $40.   MobiTel installation is free, but you must have a hand phone and a MobiTel account . BigPond requires a $50 deposit for Casual Plan Users.   More information is provided on CamNet and BigPond in the Internet section.

Comment:
BigPond, Camintel and CamNet have higher installation costs but offer Internet access in addition to e-mail service.  Consider this if you will connect to the Internet later. 

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Total Monthly Cost for E-Mail Service in Cambodia

If you use 0 to 6 hours a month this chart presents the total monthly charges you can expect to pay your e-mail Provider.  On the left of the chart is the fixed monthly service charge. The near horizontal line shows the free hours for each plan.   The slope up indicates the hourly rate for additional hours. At any number of hours you can see the total monthly cost for each plan. A vertical line at four hours shows the following costs: Forum Khmer $10,  BigPond $20, Forum Barang $22; Camintel $25; and CamNet $28; MobiTel $29.

Comment:
This chart only shows the cost per hours of connection.  The time you connect will depend on the number and size of messages you have and the speed of your connection.  The following chart shows costs adjusted to reflect possible connection speeds.

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Cost of Receiving Data

If you will receive large files or graphics you are concerned by the cost of downloading data. Cost is determined by the size of the  downloaded file, your connection speed to your e-mail provider, and the rate you pay for connection time. The last two factors are used for this chart. In the chart Data Costs are high initially if you are paying for several hours but using only a one or two.  Data Costs drop quickly until the free hours of use are finished, then stabilize according to the rate for additional connection time.

This chart assumes that you can connect at the maximum rate that the E-Mail Service supports, i.e., if you are in Phnom Penh or elsewhere with a fast connection to the server.  If you are in the provinces your data costs will be higher if your connection is slower.  See the following chart to look at data cost in the provinces.

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Cost of Data in the Provinces (with a slow connection)

This chart shows the cost of data if you are accessing you provider over Camintel lines from the provinces to PNH.  As the connection rate decreases, and the inter-provincial telephone rate increases to $0.15 - 0.20 per minute, the cost of data increases.  

MobiTel data costs become more competitive here if the connection rate stays close to the original 9600bps rate and the cost of inter-provincial data calling stays at $0.08 per minute.  Camintel is very competitive here because they offer connection from the provinces to their Phnom Penh servers at only $0.01 per minute over their own lines; beware though as Camintel's internet connection is very slow during regular hours.  Mobitel also offers its own lines for connection to PNH but the connection rate is slower.

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Consumer Recommendations

Based on current plans and pricing, my suggestions are:

MobiTel offers good value for E-Mail connection in the following situations:

See the Internet page and select CamNet, Camintel or BigPond as a provider.

Use BigPond as your Internet and e-mail provider

 (Note: In the provinces BigPond has e-mail and Internet accesses to BigPond Modems at 012 879 995.  These calls are billed at the same $0.08 per hour as the MobiTel e-mail rate.)

Use CamNet or BigPond as your Internet and e-mail provider

Use Camintel as your Internet and e-mail provider

Use the Forum Khmer, MobiTel, or CamNet plans
  If you will use only e-mail in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap

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Provider Recommendations

BigPond:
Continue to reduce registration fees and deposits for e-mail users

Negotiate with Camintel to offer the same $0.01/Minute rate from the provinces that Camintel offers its internet and e-mail customers

Install local servers in centers served by the fiber optic cable to reduce telephone connection costs

CamNet:
Install Camintel and 012 access numbers for modems to take advantage of lower  inter-provincial rates
Negotiate with Camintel to offer the same $0.01/Minute rate from the provinces that Camintel offers

WorldMail:
Improve the quality of service at provincial hubs, make regular connections from provincial hubs to update messages, improve the user interface.
Install Camintel and 012 access numbers in Phnom Penh for modems to take advantage of lower inter-provincial rates

Forum:
Install Camintel and 012 access numbers for modems to take advantage of lower inter-provincial rates
Improve the speed and quality of connections to servers

MPTC:
Require Camintel to provide all e-mail providers with inter-provincial data connections at the same $0.01/minute that Camintel offers its own customers

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