Thailand Will Likely Launch 3G Network In '06

[george]

Thailand Will Likely Launch 3G Network In '06 - Shin CEO

BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thailand will likely be ready to launch a third generation mobile phone network by 2006, Shin Corp. PCL (SHIN.TH) Chief Executive Boonklee Plangsiri said.

Shin Corp. is the country's largest telecommunications conglomerate.

Thailand can't issue 3G licenses until the National Telecommunications Commission, an independent regulatory body, is set up.

The new body - which faced delays in selecting its 14-member board - is now likely to be set up within six to 12 months, allowing the government to launch a 3G license tender next year at the earliest, Boonklee said.

"Near 2006 we'll likely see the commercial launch of the service," he told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview.

Shin Corp. is parent of Advanced Info Service PCL (ADVANC.TH), or AIS, the country's largest mobile phone operator which has a 60% market share.

Boonklee said handset prices will determine the timing of the 3G launch and the technologies to be adopted.

"We need to have attractive handset prices, and handset prices are still high," he said. "We don't believe in a business where you need to subsidize the handset."

He said AIS will team up with its current partner Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (S12.SG) in any future 3G technology deals.

Boonklee said the new regulatory framework will open the way for the long-overdue privatization of two state telecommunications agencies, Telecommunication Organization of Thailand and Communication Authority of Thailand, and kick off a round of consolidation in the sector.

He predicted a maximum of three or four players will be left in the market. There are currently four mobile phone operators in Thailand and two fixed line telecommunications operators, in addition to the two state agencies.

"If you have more than that, there are no economies of scale," he said.