DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke proposed the idea to the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, TOT's labour union and True Move - and said he would call Advanced Info Service's chief executive Somprasong Boonyachai to ask for support.

He has suggested that all telecom operators should join forces to boost their call traffic through TOT's network to different networks.

All should also agree to pay an interconnection charge to TOT at the rate of Bt1.25 per minute for calls to TOT's network and Bt0.50 per minute for calls routed through TOT's network to different networks.

Brekke said that the increased call traffic should last for a period of six months, so TOT would hardly feel the loss of the access charge.

DTAC wants to convert the access charge it has paid to TOT into the interconnection charge of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Therefore, it has to devise a way to encourage TOT to grant the conversion.

The access charge is a cost all cellular concessionaires of CAT Telecom - DTAC, True Move and Digital Phone Co of AIS - have paid to TOT for connecting different networks through TOT's network.

The interconnection charge requires all telecom operators to share voice and data revenues between the two networks involved in the calls.

According to DTAC's calculations, if counting last month alone, TOT would gain Bt500 million from the interconnection payment for calls from all telecom operators to its network and another Bt450 million from their calls through its network. The figures are based on Brekke's proposed interconnection rates.

Last month alone, TOT is estimated to have gained a combined access charge of between Bt1 billion to Bt1.2 billion from CAT's three cellular concessionaires.

Brekke said True Move's chief executive Supachai Chearavanont had reacted positively to the suggestion.

He insisted that DTAC had no intention to abandon the access-charge agreement with TOT but wanted to convert it to the interconnection charge.

Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said DTAC's idea seemed interesting, while TOT said that DTAC must honour the access-charge agreement but it was willing to negotiate with DTAC on the matter.

Last week DTAC and True Move jointly announced they would adopt only the NTC interconnection-charge regime and signed a bilateral agreement on the interconnection rate they will charge each other.

They agreed on the rate of Bt1 per minute for calls between their networks.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation