Let Cat, Tot Keep Frequencies: Ministry

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Let CAT, TOT keep frequencies: ministry

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- To help TOT and CAT Telecom survive the loss of concession revenue while the market is liberalised, the Information and Communications Technology Ministry will ask the Council of State if the state-owned enterprises can be allowed to keep the frequencies of their private concession holders after the concessions end.

"CAT and TOT have vast telecom infrastructure, so why don't we give them a chance to use it with their spectra to offer services? They've been contributing to the public interest, so we can't let them fall," ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said this week.

Next week he would instruct his permanent secretary to formally consult with the government's legal advisory arm on the matter, he said.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has also said it would request the Council of State to clarify the same matter.

The NBTC's spectrum management master plan requires all state agencies to give to NBTC for reallocation their spectra, which they had granted to private concession holders, after the concessions run out. Under the frequency allocation law, the NBTC will determine the periods for spectrum reallocation, based on public interest.

Anudith said the frequency law also states that when reclaiming the airwaves, the NBTC has to take into consideration the necessity of the state agencies to hold the bands.

The two state telecoms must be provided with "a last chance" to prove that they can compete in this liberalisation era, he said.

CAT and TOT are facing huge concession revenue losses from many factors. The concessions awarded by CAT to 1,800MHz cellular operators TrueMove and Digital Phone Co will expire in September next year.

The frequency allocation law also obliges both state enterprises to pass 100 per cent of their concession revenue to the state starting in 2014.

The NBTC will auction 2.1GHz licences for 3G this October, which will further liberalise the cellular service market.

-- The Nation 2012-08-03

[Pib]

Already trying to change the rules/law. Trying to keep the revenue in the semi-state owned TOT and CAT versus going to private/public companies. TOT and CAT have very powerful unions...unions which have a lot of political donation and voting power...they won't give up easily what they currently have. I expect public interest will lose to TOT and CAT.

[woodyleonhard]

I sure hope this is a typo:

The concessions awarded by CAT to 1,800MHz cellular operators TrueMove and Digital Phone Co will expire in September next year.

That ought to be 800 MHz, I think.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong in leaving the 800/850 MHz allocations the way they are -- if the NBTC would just get the blasted 2.1 GHz going, competitors can duke it out at the higher frequency. Open up enough spectrum, and there's no need to take away the existing allocations. It'd give CAT and TOT a leg up on the competition, but they'd have to fight to survive - which is as it should be.

[Thaddeus]

Does this have any effect on the CDMA service from CAT?

[billd766]

CAT and TOT were not willing to share what they had earlier and took active steps including going to the courts to stop AIS and DTAC getting into 3G which left only True as the option.

My personal thoughts are that neither of them should be even into mobile system.

They are bloated government departments similar to British Telecom in the unions heydays and there is no need for them any more.

[JakeBKK]

I sure hope this is a typo:

The concessions awarded by CAT to 1,800MHz cellular operators TrueMove and Digital Phone Co will expire in September next year.

That ought to be 800 MHz, I think.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong in leaving the 800/850 MHz allocations the way they are -- if the NBTC would just get the blasted 2.1 GHz going, competitors can duke it out at the higher frequency. Open up enough spectrum, and there's no need to take away the existing allocations. It'd give CAT and TOT a leg up on the competition, but they'd have to fight to survive - which is as it should be.

No this is not a typo... the 2G licenses are up for auction too.

[lomatopo]

This is just one aspect of a colossal clusterf*ck. It's a bit like three separate marriages, all with pre-nups and several modifications ( see Thaksin Shinawatra's clever excise tax ). TrueMove has not been paying CAT the required concession fees (30% of revenue), CAT has been seizing deposits, and the marriage is due to end in September, 2013. Forget for a moment they are in bed together with TrueMove H. (DTACs concession extends until 2018.) In theory TrueMove should return their 1800 MHz GSM frequency allocation, and all infrastructure, to the NBTC, but I think originally it was supposed to be returned to CAT - although CAT did not exist when the original concessions were granted, they are the legitmate concession holder - , who could then operate it, or sell it, or dispose of it in any way they chose. However, the 2006 coup-iers modified the constitution creating the NBTC, which can take control of the concessionaires frequency/network. Obviously no one wants to deal with this mess, or leave 17 million TrueMove customers flapping in the breeze next September. The easy out is to just extend all the existing concessions - AIS'es ends in 2015 when they have to hand it over to TOT - maybe until 2018 and have them all end at the same time, then auction them off, perhaps selling them back to the actual owners/operators, e.g. selling DTAC's network to DTAC, selling Truemoves to Truemove, et al., for a license fee?

This doesn't have a lot to do with existing 3G networks, CAT CDMA or the 2100 MHz 3G auction scheduled for October, 2012. Again, in theory operators would have turn over existing 850/900 MHz 3G frequency/networks when their concessions end, but TrueMove "protected" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) themselves by creating TrueMove H, essentially a CAT network. Again, in theory AIS and DTAC could re-farm their 900 and 850 MHz 3G infrastructure to 2100 MHz if they win at auction, which is presumably their plan?

Digital Phone Co. is a non issue for the most part, a mere 80,000 customers under the AIS GSM1800 brand umbrella.

This is just my view - I confess I haven't stayed up to date on it over the past few years - and I could be totally off base.