CAT, Hutchison-CAT plan joint licence
CAT Telecom plans to set up a joint venture with Hutchison-CAT to apply for a licence from the national telecom regulator to market a cellular service, an industry source said.
The joint venture will apply for a Type One licence, which is for a telecom operator without its own network, he said. The joint venture will be created after CAT and Hutchison-CAT reach an agreement to consolidate their separate code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000 1-x networks. , CAT offers cellular service via a CDMA network in 51 provinces, while Hutchison-CAT does so in 25 provinces. The planned joint venture will lease the consolidated network to market cellular service nation-wide. Hutchison-CAT is a 75:25 joint venture between Hong Kong telecom giant Hutchison Telecom and CAT. CAT recently announced that it had hired a consortium made up of Malaysia's CIMB and Bua Luang Securities to appraise the value of Hutchison-CAT's network. Hutchison Telecom awarded a similar contract to Goldman Sachs, the source said. Last week CAT chief financial officer Jirayuth Rungsrithong said CAT and the Hong Kong telecom giant were expected to reach an agreement on their network merger by July. Hutchison-CAT won a deal from CAT to market the CDMA cellular service until 2015. It had 728,000 subscribers at end of last year. The service debuted in 2003.
Usanee Mongkolporn The Nation
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