TOT Plc says it will change its focus to concentrate more on providing innovative services, broadband and network leasing, in order to boost its profits following a continuing fall in revenues from its fixed-line telephone service.

Acting president Chamras Tantreesukhon said yesterday the state agency planned to position itself as a "21st-century network operator", ready to offer any kind of new telecom service from its cutting-edge network to meet customers' needs.

It will also focus on leasing its telecom networks to the growing number of operators licensed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

TOT is the second state telecom agency to announce a "new focus". CAT Telecom Plc said last week it would concentrate more on its network-leasing and data-communications operations, due to falling revenues from its international calling service.

Chamras said TOT would also approach the NTC to pick up telecom projects arising from the regulator's Universal Service Obligation Fund.

Any NTC licensees who decline to invest in telecom services for remote areas must pay 4 per cent of their revenues into the fund, so that other telecom firms can be hired to ensure standard services for those areas.

TOT's new business focus is aimed at boosting revenues in the wake of shrinking income from its flagship fixed-line telephone service, because of competition from mobile-phone operators.

The state agency also has additional costs after becoming an NTC licensee and facing payment of regulatory fees.

In the first half of the year, TOT recorded revenues of Bt38 billion, up Bt37 billion year on year. However, it made a net profit of only Bt4.5 billion, compared with Bt5.8 billion for the same period last year.

Chief financial officer Chatri Sahavejjabhand said TOT's full-year targets were Bt76 billion for revenues and Bt8.5 billion for a net profit, up from last year's Bt72 billion and Bt6.5 billion, respectively.

TOT paid an annual licence fee of Bt700 million and an annual numbering fee of Bt300 million to the NTC in the first half of the year, as well as Bt300 million in telecom excise tax to the Excise Department.

It plans to collect concession fees of Bt14 billion this year, having collected half that amount in the first six months. It also expects to collect access charges of Bt14 billion and has already reached half that figure. Access charges are paid to TOT by CAT's private concessionaires for connecting to different networks via the TOT network.

While its fixed-line telephone business is still a main source of revenue, its returns are declining. The service's average monthly revenue per user has dropped from between Bt600 and Bt700 five years ago to the current Bt300.

However, its number of fixed-line broadband-Internet subscribers grew to 190,000 in the first half of this year, from 100,000 last year. The service is targeting 500,000 subscribers for all of this year.

Revenue from broadband Internet sky-rocketed to Bt1.3 billion in the first half, up from only Bt300 million in the same period last year.

TOT's international calling service earned Bt700 million in the first half, up from Bt500 million in the same period last year.

Senior executive vice president Tipawan Wuttisarn said TOT was surveying the attitude of its staff in regard to early retirement and planned to reduce staff who have failed to keep up with the new technologies.

She said they would be replaced with "young tech geeks" who would help drive the organisation to the forefront.

TOT had earlier said it planned to cut its staff numbers from 20,000 to about 13,000 by 2008, but Tipawan did not refer to the figures yesterday.

In a separate matter, TOT chairman Sathit Limpongpan said the Information and Communications Technology Ministry would summon TOT and CAT executives this Thursday for talks on a planned merger of the state agencies that would cut their redundant businesses.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation