AIS swears off politics, focuses on business
Leading cellular operator Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS) says it is focused solely on doing business and wants nothing to do with politics.
Vice president for marketing Titipong Khiewpaisal said yesterday that AIS had concentrated solely on market competition and nothing else. His remarks came in response to reporters' questions about how AIS was reacting to the threat by certain groups this week to boycott the products of AIS's parent company, Shin Corp Plc, as well as those of other companies with links to Shin. The sentiment erupted after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family sold its 49.6-per-cent stake in Shin to Singapore's state investment arm, Temasek Holdings, in January. Some groups regard the deal as selling key national assets to foreigners. Shin subsidiaries cover satellite, television and cellular operators whose concessions were granted by state agencies. Titipong said he could not tell if AIS would be hit if the simmering sentiment against Shin continued, but so far AIS had not felt much of an effect. One source at AIS said executives were closely monitoring the situation. AIS has more than 16.5 million subscribers. Sigve Brekke, CEO of main AIS competitor Total Access Communication (DTAC), said DTAC was conducting business as usual and would not take advantage of the political situation. "Right now, we're just staying focused on the business. I really want to avoid being involved in politics," said Brekke. DTAC has more than 8 million subscribers. Yesterday, AIS kicked off a new tariff package for both pre- and post-paid customers, allowing them to make unlimited calls every day to a maximum of three selected numbers in any fixed or cellular network free of per-minute charges. The offer is good for six months. Prepaid users who want to sign up for the package must pay Bt99 per month per selected number. If they call numbers other than those selected, the charge will be Bt5 for the first minute and Bt1 per subsequent minute. Post-paid users can select the tariff on top of their existing packages, paying an additional Bt149 monthly per selected number. The call rates of their existing packages would apply when they called numbers other than those selected.
Sirivish Toomgum The Nation
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