A source at TOT said yesterday that the board had already asked Kraisorn Pornsutee, permanent secretary of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, to appoint a panel to select the committee that will pick the next president.

Today the board will also hold a press conference to explain the reasons behind its decision to terminate Teerawit's job contract.

The board made a decision to sack Teerawit in the middle of this month but has yet to give an explanation. Teerawit last day on the job will be May 12.

Teerawit has reportedly been in conflict with members of TOT's board for several months after he took the helm at TOT in January 2005.

It has been reported that the board was dissatisfied with his failure to steer TOT toward an initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year as planned as well as the decline of TOT revenue during his stint as president.

In a separate matter, TOT's chief marketing officer, Adit Harinasuta, said that TOT expected one million broadband Internet subscribers in 2008, up from 150,000 at present and a forecast 300,000 at the end of this year.

TOT has spent around Bt130 million on broadband Internet campaigns related to the soccer World Cup this year in an effort to attract new subscribers.

"We expect that the World Cup-related campaigns will bring in an additional 60,000 broadband Internet subscribers this year," Adit said.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation