However, company executives say the call rates in some of the packages may be adjusted once AIS starts paying interconnection fees.

The new campaign features several packages, including a charge of Bt3 for the first minute of a call and Bt1 for each minute thereafter; and Bt5 for the first minute and 25 satang for each subsequent minute.

Another package offers a monthly fee of Bt199 for free calls within the AIS network from 5am to 5pm. Calls outside this period and calls to other networks will cost Bt3 for the first minute and Bt1 for each subsequent minute.

The promotions are valid until the end of June.

AIS currently has about 19 million customers, of whom 17 million are prepaid mobile-phone subscribers. Vice president Titipong Khiewpaisal said AIS might adjust the call rates in some of the new packages once it started paying interconnection fees.

The interconnection-fee system requires all telecom operators to share revenues from voice and data calls between their networks on a fair basis.

Market leaders AIS and Total Access Communication (DTAC) have agreed to start charging one another interconnection fees from next month. However, Titipong yesterday said interconnection payments between the two cellular operators might not take place on schedule.

AIS and DTAC have agreed on a termination rate - which is part of the interconnection charge - of Bt1 a minute. This is what the caller's network pays the receiver's network for every call between them.

AIS has set a goal of an additional 2.4 million subscribers this year out of a total market forecast of 5.4 million subscribers. Of this target, 80 per cent will be prepaid mobile-phone customers.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation