Higher Mobile Rates Loom In Thailand

[george]

Higher mobile rates loom in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Mobile phone users in Thailand should brace themselves for higher call rates once interconnection charges are introduced, a telecoms expert has warned.

Anuparp Thiralarp, president of the Thailand Telecommunications Management Academy (TTMA), said current cut-rate promotions offering calls for as little as one baht ($0.02) an hour did not represent operators' real costs and resulted in poor quality of service.

The promotions have encouraged frequent and excessively long calls and led to congestion on phone networks, especially at peak hours.

"Such cheap call prices merely benefit a certain group, mainly young people, because in real daily business life, one business call will last a short time and never take up to one hour," Anuparp said.

He said that rectifying current service problems was not really the job of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), although it could play the role of a mediator. He recommended that people filed complaints instead with the Consumer Protection Board.

Conditions could change once interconnection charge regulations are introduced, as operators must account for the cost of handling calls across various networks, based on actual call traffic.

Anuparp said consumers would have to prepare for higher charges in exchange for better quality of service.

"Unsuccessful connections will be a thing of the past once all operators are willing to increase more direct links at each point of connection," he said.

Anuparp blamed the current service problems on promotions begun by smaller operators and not on market-leader AIS, which has 55 % of the market and was a latecomer to price cutting.

He also said that although unsuccessful call problems would ease, several other issues needed to be resolved as the NTC had laid down two standards for interconnection regulation.

--News Edge/Bangkok Post 2006-05-12

[khall64au]

And, and.... such a long-winded article with nothing to say? How much will regular calls rise by if at all????

[Carmine6]

And, and.... such a long-winded article with nothing to say? How much will regular calls rise by if at all????

My girlfriend mentioned in an e-mail that a 5-6 minute call cost 67 baht. But she also said a 3-4 minute call cost 69 baht. So I wouldn't trust her estimate of the length of calls, but it was a big enough increase that she mentioned it to me. She was annoyed enough to contact them to complain.

I was checking here to see what the new rate was myself.

Edited May 13, 2006 by Carmine6

[qiucy00]

Higher mobile rates loom in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Mobile phone users in Thailand should brace themselves for higher call rates once interconnection charges are introduced, a telecoms expert has warned.

Anuparp Thiralarp, president of the Thailand Telecommunications Management Academy (TTMA), said current cut-rate promotions offering calls for as little as one baht ($0.02) an hour did not represent operators' real costs and resulted in poor quality of service.

The promotions have encouraged frequent and excessively long calls and led to congestion on phone networks, especially at peak hours.

"Such cheap call prices merely benefit a certain group, mainly young people, because in real daily business life, one business call will last a short time and never take up to one hour," Anuparp said.

He said that rectifying current service problems was not really the job of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), although it could play the role of a mediator. He recommended that people filed complaints instead with the Consumer Protection Board.

Conditions could change once interconnection charge regulations are introduced, as operators must account for the cost of handling calls across various networks, based on actual call traffic.

Anuparp said consumers would have to prepare for higher charges in exchange for better quality of service.

"Unsuccessful connections will be a thing of the past once all operators are willing to increase more direct links at each point of connection," he said.

Anuparp blamed the current service problems on promotions begun by smaller operators and not on market-leader AIS, which has 55 % of the market and was a latecomer to price cutting.

He also said that although unsuccessful call problems would ease, several other issues needed to be resolved as the NTC had laid down two standards for interconnection regulation.

--News Edge/Bangkok Post 2006-05-12

What made you think by charging more to the consumer will solve the problems. ? Pig brain with white blood cell. The problems do not lies with the consumers they are to be served by the telecos who charges them for the services used. The teleco should compensate their members of misery caused.