A CAT executive source said the board learned last week of the executives' concern that the relevant systems CAT used with its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 1-x broadband cellular service might not function well in supporting the CDMA service operation.

Instead of using the systems specifically designed for the cellular service, CAT has deployed the systems of its existing international calling service to support the CDMA network, said the source. Among these are the intelligence, billing and fraud-prevention systems.

Moreover, the state agency has yet to implement customer-relations and inventory-management systems.

"CAT has also yet to develop a service-management system that will alert it when the CDMA network fails. Moreover, it has no platform to enable CDMA users to access basic applications, such as "Calling Melody". Therefore, after the launch subscribers can use the CDMA network only for voice service and accessing the Internet," the executive source added.

CAT plans to start selling its CDMA handsets for the first time next month and has targeted 60,000 users by the end of the year. The handsets will cost between Bt2,000 and Bt3,000.

Subscribers must pay a monthly fee of Bt299, and the air-time rate is Bt2 for the first minute and 25 satang for each additional minute if calling within the network. If calling to a different network, they must pay Bt4 for the first minute and 25 satang for each additional minute.

Chinese telecom-equipment supplier Huawei Technologies has finished rolling out 800 CDMA base stations in 51 provinces for CAT, and the remaining 800 stations are expected to be finished next January.

CAT intends for the CDMA service to be its new major income source, tapping users who have a high demand for accessing data from their mobile phones. The CDMA technology can transmit data at high speed.

A source close to the project said the lack of the relevant systems for operating the CDMA service stemmed from CAT's terms of reference (TOR) when it launched its tender to procure the CDMA network.

"The TOR does not require the bid winner to provide such necessary systems, but rather only the network. This is because CAT had intended to use the required relevant systems of Hutchison-CAT from the start," he added.

Hutchison-CAT, a joint venture of CAT and Hong Kong telecom giant Hutchison Telecommunications, has marketed the CDMA service in 25 provinces on the network it has leased from BFKT, a wholly owned firm of Hutchison Telecom.

But after years of negotiations, CAT and the Hong Kong telecom giant have yet to reach an agreement to market the service jointly nationwide via their two separate CDMA networks.

The source close to the project said one temporary solution would be for CAT to outsource management of the required systems to other companies when launching the service.

"The executives have already proposed this idea to the board, which has yet to make any decision," the source added.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation