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Published on July 12, 2007

TOT board member Djitt Laowattana yesterday said the interested foreign companies included telecom network vendor Alcatel, global telecom operator Vodafone and a Russian fund.

Last week, Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the Chinese government was also interested in helping ailing Thai Mobile invest in the project.

"Alcatel will speak with us again about the matter on Friday," Djitt said after a meeting of TOT's 3G Network Policy Committee. "We've yet to make any commitment to anyone."

TOT broached its plan for using Thai Mobile as a vehicle to invest in a 3G network several years ago, but there has been no progress.

Thai Mobile, which currently has only 68,000 subscribers, began as a joint venture between TOT and CAT Telecom. TOT recently bought CAT's 42-per-cent stake in Thai Mobile for Bt2.4 billion.

Djitt said Thai Mobile might focus only on providing a 3G network and would invite other local cellular operators, including Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication and True Move to lease the network to provide their 3G services.

TOT may also decide Thai Mobile should provide its own 3G service, he said, but that would mean the cellular operator would have to improve its performance to provide better service.

TOT plans to spend Bt17.3 billion on the 3G network. Of that, Bt1.4 billion will go towards upgrading Thai Mobile's existing GSM network to a 3G network, and Bt15.5 billion will be used to roll out the new 3G network in Bangkok and the surrounding area.

A further Bt400 million will be spent on installing 3G networks in six provinces: Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan and Surat Thani.

If everything goes according to plan, TOT expects Thai Mobile's 3G network to have 2 million subscribers within three or four years.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation