The internet situation in Cambodia improved significantly from 2006 to 2009. When I first arrived in rural Prey Veng province there were only a few internet cafes with satellite connections but by the time I left broadband cellular service had arrived and there were dozens of VoIP/Internet cafes.

As we prepare to move to Cambodia ten years later, I’ve heard that internet connectivity there (at least in Phnom Penh) rivals what is available here in the United States. This opens up a variety of options that will enable us to keep in touch with friends and family.

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LINE

After some research, I decided on LINE as our primary communication app. WhatsApp is the most popular choice in Cambodia currently but there have been concerns about it’s privacy, raised by people like WhatsApp’s co-founders, after WhatsApp was purchased by Facebook. You might have seen my recent post on how Facebook stored user passwords in plain text for years. It’s not just that I don’t want Facebook to have more information on us, it’s also that they regularly ignore industry privacy and security standards.

WhatsApp biggest competitor is LINE, which was created by the Japanese branch of a South Korean Entertainment company. LINE is still independent of Google, Facebook, and the other mega data miners. It originated as an emergency texting service during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan and wasn’t very secure in the early days, but it’s been patched up over the years – since 2016 it’s supported end-to-end encryption for all communications (text/audio/video).

I like the ease of use, variety of options (text, audio, video), and security. Also, the stickers are fun and then there’s Tsuki ga Kirei.

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Skype / Google Hangouts / Google Voice

We’re continuing use of the old reliables – Skype and Google Hangouts – for video and audio chats.

I was concerned when Microsoft purchased Skype in 2011 but they surprised me by continuing to support Apple and Linux (and now Chromebook). Skype doesn’t have the same ease of use as WhatsApp or LINE, but it supports end-to-end encryption, video messages, and – best of all – can be fully used on a computer. My Skype user name is charles.h.conklin for anyone who wants to connect.

Google Hangouts remains a favorite of ours despite the laggy connections due to it’s ability to run from a browser (no application to install) and it’s support for more than two participant video chats. It offers “transit” encryption but not end-to-end encryption so security isn’t quite up to snuff. The only requirement is a Google account.

Google Voice is a newcomer on this list… It charges for calls and texts but it will allow us to keep our current cellular phone numbers! And it will allow us to text/call normal phone numbers from Cambodia! Skype would also let us make paid calls to normal phone numbers but with Google Voice we will be able to make those paid calls with our current numbers. We don’t plan on using this often but it will be handy to keep in touch with technologically challenged friends and family.

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Twitter / Blog

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