Cambodia formally bans 3G phones for fear of porn

The latest generation of video phone was formally banned by Cambodia, local media reported Tuesday.

So Khun, minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Monday announced the ban and urged phone companies not to be disappointed, adding that the ban would not be extended to the Internet.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a 10-year ban on the "3G" mobile phones on Friday, after his wife Bun Rany and the wives of several other top government officials petitioned him to do so, warning that the phones could be used by women to seduce men with pornography.

"The postponement is made only on the video phone, but the Internet ISP is not banned. It still operates as usual," So Khun was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying.

"Phone operators please don't be disappointed. Please understand the ministry," he said. "The 3G technology is not banned forever. It is just postponed for a while."

Cambodia's MobiTel and the AZ group had been vying to introduce the first 3G network to Cambodia.

In a letter dated on May 25, Hun Sen stated that the 3G phones should be held off for an "appropriate time in the future when the social morality is improved."

Source: Xinhua