TOT recently wrote to the two cellular operators saying it would adjust its network to recognise their numbers only if they promised to keep honouring the access-charge agreements.

In reaction to TOT's move, the National Telecommuni-cations Commission (NTC) last Friday wrote to all telecom operators - including TOT - instructing them to adjust their networks to connect the additional phone numbers the NTC had recently granted to all of them.

The adjustment has to be completed within the next 30 days. Failure will prompt the NTC to consider revoking their licences.

DTAC and True Move are in the process of integrating into their network systems more than 1.5 million additional mobile-phone numbers granted to each of them by the NTC.

In practice, once a telecom operator receives additional phone numbers, it asks all other operators to ''translate'' those new numbers into their networks to enable the numbers to be recognised by their networks.

The TOT's refusal to translate additional numbers from DTAC and True Move into its net-

work means calls from the other networks cannot reach their additional numbers if such calls are relayed through TOT's network.

Users of their additional numbers will be able to call to any network, whether through TOT's network or through the direct links between DTAC or True Move and the other operators.

Users can either receive calls or make calls if the calls are routed through the direct links of DTAC or True Move with the other operators.

TOT has translated the additional numbers of its own pri-vate cellular concessionaire Advanced Info Service into its network.

DTAC's chief executive Sigve Brekke said DTAC was in talks with TOT on the issue, adding that if TOT insisted on not translating, TOT would hurt it own customers. The TOT move means TOT's fixed-line customers cannot connect to the additional mobile numbers of DTAC and True Move as well, added DTAC's chief customer officer Sunti Medhavikul.

He claimed only 20 per cent of DTAC's calls transited TOT's network to connect with different networks and the remainder travelled through the direct links.

Recently DTAC, which holds a concession from CAT, asked TOT to convert the access charge into the NTC's interconnection charge, which mandates all telecom operators to share voice revenue between their networks involved in the calls.

The cellular operators, which hold concessions from CAT Telecom Plc, have paid the access charge to TOT for connecting to different networks through TOT's network.

TOT has yet to grant DTAC's request because of concern about the possible loss of the access charge, from which it has gained around Bt14 billion yearly from all CAT's private cellular concessionaires.

In the last two weeks DTAC and True Move have signed a bilateral agreement on the interconnection rates they will charge each other.

Besides DTAC and True Move, TOT has yet to translate an additional 70,000 fixed telephone numbers for Triple T Broadband, citing a slow technical process.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation