Regional telecommunications tower builder edotco Group is shaping its Cambodian business by driving a host of green initiatives to construct sustainable networks in line with the company’s commitment to protect the environment.

In the Kingdom, it provides an array of services related to telecommunications towers such as tower leasing, co-locations, build-to-suit, operations and maintenance to ensure high quality and reliable network.

As end of March 2019, the company owned and managed 3,625 sites across the Kingdom.

“At edotco, sustainability is a core principle that guides our overall business operations. This commitment improves our competitiveness and at the same time ensures we create positive social impact in markets where we operate,” edotco’s Chief Regional Officer Phillip Wong told The Post.

“Across our regional footprint we also aim to address community impacting issues from passive infrastructure such as noise from diesel generators by deploying ‘silent generators’, solar solutions and solutions like hydrogen fuel cells.”

The Malaysia-headquartered company, which is part of the Axiata Group Bhd, operates in several emerging markets – from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan to Sri Lanka.

edotco, which provides passive infrastructure to telecom companies, owns and manages over 28,500 telecommunications towers across these countries and deploys a series of innovative green technologies to curb carbon emission and noise pollution.

“We ended 2018 with a total of 1,112 green sites across the six countries in which we have a presence, comprising of alternative material towers and renewable energy solutions, and we achieved our target of reducing carbon emission by 44 per cent in 2018, a year in advance of the original plan.

“In Cambodia, we are currently working with the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and Atelier Cole to research the feasibility of using locally available bamboo for the construction of telecommunications towers. We aim to have [the] first bamboo telecommunications tower ready for commercial use in Cambodia by end of the year,” added Wong.

There has been recognition for edotco’s environment friendly initiatives. For the third consecutive year, including 2019, the company wrested Frost & Sullivan’s “Asia Pacific Telecoms Tower Company of The Year” award.

Cambodia’s telecommunications sector is fertile. According to reports, there are about 25 million mobile subscriptions compared to the nation’s 16 million population.

The Kingdom’s young population, at least 60 percent under the age of 30 combined with growing rural-urban migration and rising disposable income, continue to drive the demand for faster and cheaper mode of communication.

“We see the number of our towers growing as digital penetration in Cambodia keeps increasing from year to year. This growth in mobile connectivity requires more infrastructure and edotco Cambodia plans to partner closely with the government and local MNOs [mobile network operator] towards achieving this ambition,” said Wong.

Introducing innovative green technologies is part of the company’s mission.

Last year, edotco introduced in-Building Solutions and special camouflage towers that blend with different environments to help Cambodia meet its increasing connectivity needs.

“We also offer innovative solutions to our customers such as Call on Wheels, a portable base station used for special events, such as concerts or in disaster areas where there is an increase in coverage needs and capacity demands,” said Wong.