Thai 3G Plan Could Be Derailed By 'Conspiracy,' Wichian Says

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Thai 3G Plan Could Be Derailed by ‘Conspiracy,’ Wichian Says

By Tony Jordan

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s six-year struggle to sell licenses for third-generation wireless services may be derailed by politics, said Wichian Mektrakarn, head of the phone company founded by exiled leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Advanced Info Service Pcl, operator of the nation’s biggest mobile-phone network, and rivals Total Access Communication Pcl and True Corp. Pcl began offering limited 3G services earlier this year. Advanced is reluctant to invest more until the government auctions licenses and sets rules for operating the service, Wichian said in an interview in Bangkok.

“I believe there is still some kind of conspiracy, or some kind of movement to try to stop or delay 3G,” said Wichian, 57, who took over as CEO from Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister and Thailand’s current prime minister. “There are still a lot of obstacles. Anything can happen in Thailand.”

Thailand first planned to auction 3G licenses in 2005, a year before Thaksin’s sale of his telecommunications empire to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte sparked protests that culminated in the military coup that ousted him. Another failure could see Thailand fall further behind nations including China and Malaysia that are already moving toward fourth-generation mobile networks.

“Transparency is poor, and vested interests, that could be hurt by the licensing, remain,” said David Beller, a Bangkok- based analyst for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, who has a “buy” rating on Advanced Info. “There will be a number of hurdles to pass.” [More...]

Full story: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-02/thai-3g-plan-could-be-derailed-by-conspiracy-wichian-says.html

-- businessweek.com 2011-10-03