Smart looking sharp for the year of 5G

Smart Axiata CEO Hundt (light blue jacket) unveils the company’s 5G plans in Phnom Penh last year

Since its establishment, Smart Axiata has emerged as one of the biggest and leading telecommunication service providers in Cambodia. With more than 1,000 employees and 8 million subscribers under its brand, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thomas Hundt says Smart ended 2019 on a high note.

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“I am definitely excited about 2020. We are entering a new decade, a decade that will see even more staggering changes,” said Hundt. The CEO pointed out that in the upcoming sea of changes, technology will serve as the best solution to tackle these changes.

While Hundt believes that he cannot forecast the exact changes that will take place in the next 10 years, he says Smart’s role in providing connectivity to the country will be even more important.

Revolutionizing industry

“2020 will be the year of 5G,” says Hundt, who led his team in 2019 as it showcased some of the opportunities that can be provided through the implementation of 5G in the country.

“Countries such as China and South Korea have already moved ahead with 5G, even in Europe as well, and it’s time for Cambodia to enter into the 5G era as well,” Hundt said.

Hundt says that as prices for devices in the country have become more reasonable, 5G will play a major role in revolutionising the industry. While the major telecom operators are in a position to roll out the services to their subscribers, the Royal Government has yet to approve them.

“We have lined up the budget for the first phase of rolling out the 5G services this year and we hope to move in the coming weeks,” said Hundt who hopes for approval from the government to come soon because he hopes to rollout the services towards the middle of the year rather than the end.

He went on to say the full potential of 5G will unlock gradually over time and, with an enhanced mobile broadband, speed and resolutions for subscribers to watch videos, utilise cloud services as well as work with/enjoy augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), new experiences will be accessible to Smart’s subscribers.

“There will be more coming up because the introduction of 5G will create fresh demand and developers will have to keep up with the constant change consumers look for,” said Hundt.

Smart recently went public on a merger between Pi Pay Plc and SmartLuy, a Smart subsidiary. While the merger is still awaiting several approvals from authorities, if and when it occurs it is expected to strengthen the mobile wallet platform’s operations with SmartLuy’s strong agent network.