Cat To Debut Bt9 Rate To 9 Destinations

LONG-DISTANCE CALLS: CAT to debut Bt9 rate to 9 destinations

Move in response to TOT's campaign targeting same overseas markets

CAT Telecom Co will next week introduce a new and uniform international direct-dial rate of Bt9 per minute to nine major destinations.

A CAT source said the move was made to counteract TOT's debut yesterday of its overseas call service featuring the same Bt9 rate to the same nine long-distance destinations.

TOT users can now dial the 007 prefix to reach the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Australia.

At present, CAT's rates varied to the nine zones, starting at Bt9.

For example, CAT charges Bt9 per minute for calling to the US but Bt14 for ringing up Hong Kong.

CAT at the same time will bring out lower rates of Bt7 and Bt8 per minute when calling to any of the nine destinations via its voice over Internet Protocol (IP) network on a pre-paid and post-paid basis respectively.

To use CAT's VOIP service with the 009 prefix, callers can either buy a pre-paid card with a PIN code, or they can dial 009 and get a bill by the end of the month.

TOT's move into the overseas call business is in line with the policy of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to allow competition between the two state telecom enterprises for the benefit of consumers.

But CAT has viewed the policy as a threat to its survival since the overseas call business brings in 80 per cent of its total revenue.

CAT's board is meeting today to work out what it will charge TOT for leasing its international gateway.

TOT has already connected its network with CAT's gateway to provide the new service but CAT has yet to inform it about the lease rate.

TOT's executives said two days ago that if CAT did not propose a satisfactory rate to TOT, it would switch to using the gateways of foreign telecom firms

CAT and TOT have often competed directly with each other in the same business arenas, ranging from cellular-phone services to overseas call markets.

--The Nation 2004-07-02