Private cellular operators might see their concession fees raised to a uniform 30 per cent after the Council of State ruled yesterday that amendments to their concessions had not followed the Public-Private Joint Venture Act of 1992.

The ruling came as a relief to the telecom firms, however, as it confirmed their concessions were still valid.

Information and Communica-tions Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said he would set up a committee to coordinate with the private telecom operators on bringing the amendments into compliance, and also on his intention to promote equal competition.

He will ask all private operators to share 30 per cent of their revenues with the state agency that granted them their concession, either TOT or CAT Telecom. He declined to comment whether the increase in the revenue-sharing rate could push operators into passing the extra cost on to subscribers.

The ruling brought a huge sigh of relief from the cellular players, as it confirmed that their concessions and amendments, while out of step with the Act, were still valid.

Sitthichai had submitted the state concession contracts with Advanced Info Service (AIS), Total Access Communication (DTAC), True Move and Digital Phone Co (DPC) to the Council of State, the government's legal advisory arm, to see whether the amendments breached the law. In particular, the amendments had not been subjected to Cabinet review.

The Council of State sent its interpretation to him yesterday.

AIS president Wichian Mektra-karn said he did not object to paying the 30 per cent, as it was better than having its concession revoked.

"We've nothing more to lose," he said.

DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said the ruling was in line with DTAC's legal understanding on the issue, which is very positive in his view. "Most importantly, the ruling has stated clearly that our concession with CAT is valid and legally binding," he said. But the ruling added that the Cabinet still had the authority to scrap their concessions stemming from the violation of the Act if it considers that the concession amendments have seriously damaged the public interest.

Sitthichai's committee will have to forward revised concession amendments for Cabinet approval.

The Act requires all public-private investment projects to pass a feasibility study and Cabinet screening if their value exceeds Bt1 billion.

DTAC, True Move and DPC share about 25 per cent of their prepaid and post-paid revenue with either TOT or CAT, while AIS pays 30 per cent of its post-paid and 20 of its prepaid revenue to TOT. But if concession fees for prepaid and post-paid services are combined, each of them shares almost the same 25 per cent with TOT or CAT on average.

DTAC's concession from CAT has had three amendments. The last one, in November 1996, extended DTAC's concession to 27 years from the original 22.

AIS's concession has been amended seven times. The fourth, made on September 20, 1996, extended the concession from 20 to 25 years.

Another major amendment was made on May 15, 2001, when TOT allowed AIS to change the share of its prepaid phone revenues paid to TOT to a flat rate of 20 per cent a month for the rest of its concession, down from the original 25 per cent.

Last December Chianchuang Kalayanamitr, an adviser to the former House telecommunications committee, filed a complaint to the Assets Examination Committee, claiming that the country has lost Bt83.5 billion from granting the lower rate to AIS.

The original concession had set incremental rates for AIS over its term - starting at 20 per cent, then moving to 25 per cent and ending at 30 per cent. Between 2001 and 2005, AIS was supposed to pay 25 per cent of its prepaid call revenues to TOT. The rate was due to rise to 30 per cent this year and run at that level until the concession expires in 2015.