Somchai said he would tell his staff to change the long-held attitude that private telecom concessionaires and CAT are their rivals.

The move is in line with TOT's plan to establish a 3G broadband cellular network for lease to private telecom operators in order to provide the state agency with a new source of revenue.

Thai Mobile, a cellular joint venture owned by TOT and CAT, owns the 1900 MHz spectrum that can be used to develop a 3G network.

As part of its plan to develop the network, TOT is in talks to buy CAT's 42-per-cent stake in Thai Mobile as well as its joint ownership of the spectrum.

Without elaborating, Somchai said TOT would launch what he called "innovative services" in the next two months.

"I can't tell now, but the services will make us different from other telecom operators," Somchai said.

TOT aims to have one million broadband Internet subscribers by the end of next year, up from the 300,000 expected by the end of this year and the current 260,000. "The broadband business will be our flagship," Somchai said.

Somchai added that he would review existing plans for several TOT units to separately invest in the cutting-edge 3G multimedia network.

"TOT should invest in the network as a whole instead of each unit going ahead on its own," he said.

TOT posted revenue of more than Bt40 billion during the past eight months, a 1-per-cent drop from the same period last year due to fierce competition from cellular operators against TOT's core business of fixed-line telephone services.

This year, TOT is expected to post revenue of Bt60.1 billion, down from Bt61.9 billion last year. The TOT board appointed Somchai, 54, as acting president last month. It is currently in the process of selecting a new president.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation