Junta wants to revitalize TOT and CAT Telecom



BANGKOK: -- The National Council for Peace and Order aims to revitalize the two state-owned telecommunications operators, the TOT and CAT Telecom, so that they can be self-supporting and competitive, according to Mr Thakorn Tanthasit, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.

In order to achieve this goal, he said that the spectrum allocation law has to be amended which will free both TOT and CAT Telecom from the obligation of having to return their revenue from the auction of their concessions to the state.

Also, the NBTC law will have to be amended so that the TOT and CAT Telecom still have the right to manage the spectrum whose concession period has not expired and the spectrum whose concession period has already expired for another two years.

Currently, TOT owns the 17.5 MHz spectrum of the 900 MHz currently held by Advanced Information Services whose concession is due to expire next year. NBTC originally has a plan to auction off in November the 64 MHz bandwidth of 2.3-2.4 gigahertz spectrum.

CAT Telecom, meanwhile, owns the 75 MHz spectrum of the 1800 MHz bandwidth.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/junta-wants-revitalize-tot-cat-telecom/


-- Thai PBS 2014-07-04

This is easier sad than done , you have competition from the private sector, you will need to improve productivity to compete,

In a previous Thai news article, the Thai military dictatorship or junta, is considering privatizing state agencies. But here they are proposing to "revitalize" or breathe life into TOT and CAT. They seem confused.

Everyday there is "good" news of another proposed enhancement, revision, investment in different areas of the economy. Suvarnabhumi airport plan being an exception, as that was sent back to the drawing board.

I do hope there is some kind of master plan behind the scenes which pulls all of these initiatives together. Not saying there isn't one, just hope there is. Otherwise there's a danger of activity without result, inability to pay for the overall cost when it's totted up, incompatible initiatives and competing initiatives.

But at least there are some sacred cows being examined.

I would suggest to merge CAT and TOT. Why does Thailand need two telecom branches who don't really know if they are part of the privat sector or part of the supervising governement.

They are in a constant conflict of interest which is bad for all.

But if TOT or CAT want to be competitive in the private sector, first they need to understand what the customer needs. Not that TRUE etc have much better understanding, but if TOT and CAT actually do their homework, they could actually get a big share of the market.

E.g. allow credit card payment even after 4 pm (no joke!) and stop promissing download speeds they cannot deliver. (listen, TRUE!)

This is easier sad than done , you have competition from the private sector, you will need to improve productivity to compete,

Don't be so ridiculously sensible. We live in Junta world, not real world. Commercial realities no longer apply here.

In a previous Thai news article, the Thai military dictatorship or junta, is considering privatizing state agencies. But here they are proposing to "revitalize" or breathe life into TOT and CAT. They seem confused.

"They seem confused."

And you don't think the crew they kicked out were confused? OMG.

I would suggest to merge CAT and TOT. Why does Thailand need two telecom branches who don't really know if they are part of the privat sector or part of the supervising governement.

They are in a constant conflict of interest which is bad for all.

But if TOT or CAT want to be competitive in the private sector, first they need to understand what the customer needs. Not that TRUE etc have much better understanding, but if TOT and CAT actually do their homework, they could actually get a big share of the market.

E.g. allow credit card payment even after 4 pm (no joke!) and stop promissing download speeds they cannot deliver. (listen, TRUE!)

Yes! And all the other requirements that will be needed to move their Customer Service out of the 19th century into the 21st century. For instance: Customer service reps that actually know what they are talking about, understand "credit" on an invoice and can operate a computer without calling for help from another person, a billing system that is comprehensible (easy to understand), easy on-line payment options, etc.

In a previous Thai news article, the Thai military dictatorship or junta, is considering privatizing state agencies. But here they are proposing to "revitalize" or breathe life into TOT and CAT. They seem confused.

"They seem confused."

And you don't think the crew they kicked out were confused? OMG.

Noitom seems to be trying to stir the pot. A very sensible suggestion to get those 2 behemoths of their butts & into the real world as it seems to me they have had a cushy run for far too long.

Tot needs to learn how to bribe building owners to propose their internet connection exclusively in the building as other carriers do...

I have been using cat for over 3 years and not had many problems and if there is one it is fixed that day and they also answer the phone when you call in English too .Not like tot which is a (truely old turtle) that need to be flattened I would hate cat to merge with tot I had to put up with tot for 4 years till cat came into my area I would never ever use tot again there is no service and no one ever answers the phone there. If you are lucky to get any sort of service you will wait approx 7 days for the service guys to come and after they have come it might last you one week before you have to start the whole process over again.

TOT can get lost CAT for me every time.

Have used cat for over 5 years and in that time only had one bust up with them and that is when they tried to charge me 32,000 baht for my fibre optic installation.i told them 12,000 or take it away, they bit the bullet and accepted my offer, the reason for the charge was bringing the line some 850 metres to my property , on the speed test that I do I average 15 Mbps which falls short of the 20they claim however it is good enough for my needs however at 1,500 + vat per month they are more expensive than 3bb overall I have had a good service from them over the years !

Corruption is engrained in the blood. No one wants to lose face. Everyday we hear of all the proposed (clean-up) improvements...

Where will all the money come from? After the military completes their phase of things Thailand will have to face the reality of price increases. We will all pay more for goods and services and taxes will be heavier. Improvements don't come cheap, someone will have to pay the price.