Thai TOT To Get Control Of Mobile JVs; Plans To Offer 3G
BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Thailand's state-owned telecom firm TOT said Friday it will buy shares in two mobile-phone joint ventures from state agency CAT Telecom PCL, in a move to gain full control over 1,900 and 2,000 megahertz mobile-phone frequencies for the third generation, or 3G, telecom services.
TOT will buy CAT Telecom's stakes in ACT Mobile, a cellular network builder, and Thai Mobile, a small mobile-phone operator, which TOT hopes to use as a platform to become the country's first provider of 3G services.
TOT and CAT have negotiated for more than a year over the pricing of the deal.
"CAT Telecom has finally agreed to give TOT the full authority to manage the 1,900 and 2,000 megahertz frequencies. Regarding the pricing, it will be determined by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, shareholders of both TOT and CAT," TOT's president Teeravit Charuwat told a news conference.
TOT declined to provide any indication on pricing of the deal.
Following the transactions, Thai Mobile will be renamed TOT Mobile and will seek a strong foreign partner to help it develop 3G services, Teeravit said.
He said TOT has been in talks with several potential partners and it will next week discuss the issue with Vodafone Group. Since last year, local media have also reported that TOT was in talks with Japan's NTT DoCoMo to sell a stake in Thai Mobile.
Teeravit expects Thai Mobile to become a mobile-phone network and service provider and he projects Thai Mobile's investment for the 3-G network at around THB10 billion.
"The new partner will help us reduce investment burden and provide its expertise in the 3-G services," said Teeravit.
Thai Mobile currently serve only about 100,000 mobile-phone users, a level analysts attribute to poor marketing campaigns.
The company had been granted licenses to operate 1,900 and 2,000 megahertz frequencies prior to the establishment of the National Telecommunications Commission, or NTC, set up in late 2004 to oversee the creation of a new regulatory structure in the telecom sector.
The NTC has postponed publishing criteria for 3-G service licenses from the end of last year, saying it needs more time to study the economic, social and legal aspects of the issue. The NTC also noted the National Broadcasting Commission has yet to be set up to take charge of frequency allocation and liberalizing the broadcasting sector.
-By Phisanu Phromchanya, Dow Jones Newswires; 662-266-0744; phisanu.phromchanya@dowjones.com
-Edited by Leslie Shaffer
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 3rd March 2006
