Ntc Asks Ict To Tell Tot To Behave

[george]

NTC asks ICT to tell TOT to behave

BANGKOK: -- The telecom regulator Tuesday sent letters to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Finance ministries asking them to make TOT comply with its interconnection regime, saying that otherwise, consumers would suffer.

The ICT Ministry oversees the state telecom agencies, while the Finance Ministry owns all of their shares.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said in the letter that since TOT was under the ministries' supervision, they should consider doing something to protect the interests of telecom consumers.

TOT has declined to integrate 1.5 million new mobile-phone numbers each for Total Access Communication (DTAC) and True Move into its network on the grounds that they did not pay the company its access charge.

A telecom needs all other operators to translate its new numbers into their switching systems, so that the numbers can be recognised by their networks. TOT's refusal to register DTAC and True Move's new numbers means calls from other networks cannot reach the new numbers if they are relayed through TOT's network.

All telecom operators connect with one another via links through TOT and their own direct links.

-- The Nation 2007-01-09