NRC chairman warns mobile phone firms to adopt per-second phone charge

[webfact]

NRC chairman warns mobile phone firms to adopt per-second phone charge



BANGKOK: -- National Reform Council chairman Thienchai Kiranant has warned mobile phone companies to strictly follow the council’s resolution to charge telephone fees on per-second basis permanently.

He said that the per-second charge must be adopted on permanent basis and applied to all mobile phone charges and not just applied to promotional packages.

Mr Thienchai’s warning came after mobile telephone companies agreed with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission that they would charge per-second fees for promotional packages only starting March 1.

The NRC’s consumers’ protection panel has scheduled a meeting next Tuesday with representatives of the NBTC, mobile telephone companies and consumers’ organisations to discuss mobile phone fee restructuring.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/nrc-chairman-warns-mobile-phone-firms-adopt-per-second-phone-charge


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-09

[2fishin2]

Everybody complains about the "long arm of government" in their home countries. Nobody complains about this military government or how the Thai government controls every aspect of Thai society. This is why Thailand will never progress, too much military and government involvement in public affairs and not enough free market or free thinking people. The ones that do "think outside the box" are shunned. Probably because they dont wear cool uniforms to work

[chainarong]

Thailand had a good international reputation with tourists as far as phone charges were concerned, far superior to Telstra Australia that charge by the minuet and like wounded bulls, now Thailand introduces phone charges by the second, certainly makes Thailand second rate.

[hkt83100]

Could someone please explain to me, why charging by seconds should be bad? Are you happy to be charged full two minutes for a call duration of 61 seconds?

[ratcatcher]

Thailand had a good international reputation with tourists as far as phone charges were concerned, far superior to Telstra Australia that charge by the minuet and like wounded bulls, now Thailand introduces phone charges by the second, certainly makes Thailand second rate.

"....that charge by the minuet....."

I would much rather be charged by the minuet than the symphony.

[Pib]

I hope they do indeed switch to charging by second. Why should you pay for a 1 minute call when it only lasted 30 seconds or maybe even a few seconds...why pay for a 3 minute call if it only lasted 2 minutes and 1 second.

The great majority of phone companies have always rounded up talk time to the next highest minute simply because it logs more usage which means more cost to the customer which means more profit for the company. Sure, the companies could adjust their price model to offset charging by the second versus minute...we'll just have to wait and see if they do which means nothing will have changed for the customer.

[givenall]

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Could someone please explain to me, why charging by seconds should be bad? Are you happy to be charged full two minutes for a call duration of 61 seconds?

It will only bad if the charge on my phone goes up. I have seen this time and times before , the government step in to help the consumer, but actually they are under the companies influence and end up helping them

[rickirs]

"National Reform Council chairman Thienchai Kiranant has warned mobile phone companies to strictly follow the council’s resolution to charge telephone fees on per-second basis permanently....He said that the per-second charge must be adopted on permanent basis and applied to all mobile phone charges and not just applied to promotional packages."

Thienchai certainly is impressed with himself as NRC chairman. BUT .......

The NRC is not a legislative body. It cannot pass laws. It might be able to enforce laws given the whole junta domination of government situation, but the NRC cannot legally force companies to charge telephone fees on a per-second basis permanently. At this point all Thienchai can do if the providers rebuff him is to ask Gen. Prayuth to pressure the providers and it wouldn't be difficult for Gen. Prayuth to get legislation passed requiring the new fee arrangement.

However, the providers may have legitimate reasons for not using a permanent per-second fee system. The cell phone industry in Thailand is still relatively new. Its development, startup, and infrastruture costs haven't been fully amortized. Providers may argue that they require a higher interim profit margin to generate capital for growth until such time as they reach economic equalibrium. At that time it would be reasonable to charge on a per-second basis. This pricing progression has occurred in developed Western and Pacific Rim nations.

[surangw]

wait for the phrase "unforeseen consequences " to be used

[halloween]

"National Reform Council chairman Thienchai Kiranant has warned mobile phone companies to strictly follow the council’s resolution to charge telephone fees on per-second basis permanently....He said that the per-second charge must be adopted on permanent basis and applied to all mobile phone charges and not just applied to promotional packages."

Thienchai certainly is impressed with himself as NRC chairman. BUT .......

The NRC is not a legislative body. It cannot pass laws. It might be able to enforce laws given the whole junta domination of government situation, but the NRC cannot legally force companies to charge telephone fees on a per-second basis permanently. At this point all Thienchai can do if the providers rebuff him is to ask Gen. Prayuth to pressure the providers and it wouldn't be difficult for Gen. Prayuth to get legislation passed requiring the new fee arrangement.

However, the providers may have legitimate reasons for not using a permanent per-second fee system. The cell phone industry in Thailand is still relatively new. Its development, startup, and infrastruture costs haven't been fully amortized. Providers may argue that they require a higher interim profit margin to generate capital for growth until such time as they reach economic equalibrium. At that time it would be reasonable to charge on a per-second basis. This pricing progression has occurred in developed Western and Pacific Rim nations.

Your last paragraph is amazingly similar to Thaksin's explanation of why his mobile phone monopoly overcharged Thais for years. I wouldn't accuse you of plagiarism, but perhaps your extensive study of his writings has resonated.

[candide]

To be honest, wether it is in mn or s will not significantly change the phone bill of my Thai GF!

[sulasno]

Ditto

[Thai at Heart]

"National Reform Council chairman Thienchai Kiranant has warned mobile phone companies to strictly follow the councils resolution to charge telephone fees on per-second basis permanently....He said that the per-second charge must be adopted on permanent basis and applied to all mobile phone charges and not just applied to promotional packages."

Thienchai certainly is impressed with himself as NRC chairman. BUT .......

The NRC is not a legislative body. It cannot pass laws. It might be able to enforce laws given the whole junta domination of government situation, but the NRC cannot legally force companies to charge telephone fees on a per-second basis permanently. At this point all Thienchai can do if the providers rebuff him is to ask Gen. Prayuth to pressure the providers and it wouldn't be difficult for Gen. Prayuth to get legislation passed requiring the new fee arrangement.

However, the providers may have legitimate reasons for not using a permanent per-second fee system. The cell phone industry in Thailand is still relatively new. Its development, startup, and infrastruture costs haven't been fully amortized. Providers may argue that they require a higher interim profit margin to generate capital for growth until such time as they reach economic equalibrium. At that time it would be reasonable to charge on a per-second basis. This pricing progression has occurred in developed Western and Pacific Rim nations.

Your last paragraph is amazingly similar to Thaksin's explanation of why his mobile phone monopoly overcharged Thais for years. I wouldn't accuse you of plagiarism, but perhaps your extensive study of his writings has resonated.

Plenty of Thai companies in restricted industry say the same.CP is a global giant but foreign companies are apparently too scary in the Thai market for them.