ICT minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said yesterday after meeting with TOT board chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr that only the two state agencies would consolidate their network management.

Recently a joint panel of TOT and CAT concluded that a holding company would be set up to manage the networks of TOT and CAT, the networks of their private concessionaires, and those of the three state electricity enterprises.

The joint conclusion is in response to an agreement last month in a meeting of the Council for National Security with the boards of TOT and CAT and the ICT minister as part of their plan to create a national telecom network. This is in order to maximise the country's key telecom networks.

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) have each already won telecom licenses from the National Telecommunications Commission to lease fibre optic networks to telecom operators in order to provide services.

Sitthichai said that the state electricity enterprises could opt to join the planned network pool on a voluntary basis. He added that TOT and CAT could not step in to manage the networks of the private telecom concessionaires as this would violate the concession contracts.

TOT wants to manage the networks of its major concessionaires, Advanced Info Service, True Corp and TT&T, and lease their networks to them and any other interested firms.

Sitthichai also told TOT yesterday to conduct the pro and con sides of the argument for the plan of joint network management.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation