The state agency board approved the spending on Friday.

TOT director Djitt Laowattana said it would appoint a committee to form the holding company and develop a business road map.

"The holding company is expected to be completely set up in September or October," he added.

TOT initiated the idea of a network pool in March, claiming it will maximise use of the country's telecom networks.

The holding company will manage the networks of TOT, CAT Telecom, the provincial and metropolitan electricity authorities and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).

However, the Information and Communications Technology Ministry recently said the company should manage only TOT and CAT networks.

The TOT holding-company idea has received Council for National Security blessing.

The provincial and metropolitan electricity authorities recently secured National Telecommunica-tions Commission approval to lease their networks to private telecom operators.

Djitt said TOT would not force the state electricity authorities to join the pool. He added TOT had proposed the idea to Egat and asked it to provide back-up network for TOT.

In a separate matter, a TOT committee is preparing legal action against its two private fixed-line telecom concessionaires, True Corp and TT&T. Djitt declined to elaborate on the matter.

TOT is engaged in several disputes with both operators.

Djitt added that the board had approved 2008 spending of Bt9 billion, a major downward revision from an earlier estimate of Bt20 billion.

"The cut is in line with the sufficiency economy. We'll invest only in what is necessary," he said.

The board will consider soon paying an additional Bt750 million to Siemens and Ericsson, who are installing a combined 565,000 fixed telephone lines.

TOT president Somkual Bura-minhentr said the additional payment was a result of requested changes to the installation.

TOT is yet to consider fining the two companies for failing to meet the project's August 2006 deadline, he added.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation