Cellular fees to be fairer
The Information and Communications Technology Ministry is working on the process to make all cellular operators pay similar concession fees and to ensure a level playing field.
ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom on Sunday said he had ordered the state concession owners, TOT and CAT Telecom, to set up a joint panel to adjust all cellular concessions. The adjustment should be finalised next month.The cellular operators have differences in their contracts, such as fee-calculation methods and expiry dates. Sitthichai has proposed to the Finance Ministry that telecom excise be reduced to zero for both fixed-line and cellular operators, from 2 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. The Cabinet will consider his proposal next Tuesday. The minister said that Advanced Info Service (AIS) had agreed to increase its concession fee to TOT for its prepaid-call service from 20 per cent at present to 25 per cent. AIS will also reduce its concession fee for its post-paid call service from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. The changes mean AIS will pay fees for both services at the same rate as the other operators. The increase in fee for its prepaid service means AIS will pay an additional Bt1.1 billion per year to TOT. AIS has more than 17 million subscribers, of whom 80 per cent are prepaid users. Earlier, Sitthichai gave an option to have all cellular operators pay the same concession-fee rate of 20 per cent of prepaid-call revenues and the same excise rate of 5 per cent. But he later changed his mind over concerns about how that would have affected TOT and CAT. Both of the state agencies have also paid the excise, like all telecom operators. Total Access Communication CEO Sigve Brekke said he wanted to give credit to Sitthichai and AIS for helping the industry to reform. Telecom Reporters, The Nation
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