Sigve Brekke, the company's chief executive officer, said he had seen a light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the faster working process of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Last week the NTC said that on August 29 it expected to approve the Rate Interconnection Offer (RIO) proposals made by major telecom operators, which will kick-start the official use of the interconnection regime.

After approval, telecom operators can begin talks on finalising interconnection rates among each other. The RIO proposals are the commercial terms they will use to offer interconnection between companies.

Brekke said the interconnection-charge regime would create a major regulatory change, paving way for other regulations such as those concerning a framework for competition, 3G (third generation) licences, and number portability.

The interconnection charge requires all telecom operators to share voice and data revenues between the two networks involved in a call. This will discourage them from offering extremely low call rates.

"The interconnection charge will establish the price floor. It will not increase overall call pricing, but will take the air out of crazy promo tions and normalise competition. The decision will allow operators to focus more on services and growing revenues," Brekke said.

A price war in the second quarter hit the net profit of major cellular operators and led to call jams among the networks at the expense of their reputation for network quality.

DTAC's CEO said the market was far from its saturation point and would approach a penetration rate of 70 per cent within the next couple of years, compared to the present 50 per cent.

There are more than 30 million mobile-phone users out of a total population of about 60 million. DTAC has more than 10 million subscribers, while Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS) has more than

17 million and True Move, five

million.

Contributing to market growth for cellular operators is the fall in product prices, and their zealous tapping of potential users in the more remote areas upcountry.

DTAC is rolling out a network upcountry to tap the virgin market in such areas, and has continued partnering with non-telecom distribution channels to help it penetrate deeper.

It recently launched a refill service enabling prepaid customers to top-up call value from air-time agents in their communities. The company plans to increase the number of air-time agents from 12,000 to 50,000 this year.

Brekke said DTAC was also focusing on what he calls 'micro segments' - customer groups that are amenable to specific offers, such as special SMS rates for heavy SMS users.

The Singapore-listed telecom operator will also install intelligent software, enabling it to keep track and analyse customer behaviour in order to design its promotions.

For this the company has invested Bt1 billion on upgrading its customer services system.

Besides the financial side, DTAC has continued promoting a customer-centric culture among its staff and has encouraged them to share marketing ideas and participate in marketing activities across the country.

But AIS might not allow DTAC to race ahead too quickly. Recently the market leader appointed operational veteran Wichian Mektrakarn as its new president, and he has announced that his focus will be on the network and service quality.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation