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Published on March 26, 2008

Vendors are vying to sell third-generation (3G) broadband equipment to cellular operators, following their move to develop the advanced service on their existing spectra.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry last week advised all cellular operators and state telecoms to join forces in developing the service on their 800 megahertz and 900MHz bands.

Next week, the new boards of TOT and CAT Telecom will meet on how to support the ministry's 3G policy.

Wichian Mektrakarn, president of Advanced Info Service (AIS), said yesterday that China-based Huawei Technologies has offered 35 base stations for high-speed downlink access (HSDPA) free of charge to AIS to develop its 3G service. They would be installed in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens and NEC have also proposed a combined 65 HSDPA base stations to AIS for free, he said.

"AIS has normally used only two suppliers. We'll select those that have shown commitment to us," he said.

AIS will spend about Bt25 million on rolling out the first 100 HSDPA base stations but Wichian declined to specify how many would eventually be needed.

A telecom industry source said AIS plans to spend Bt7 billion to roll out the 3G network over three years.

Sigve Brekke, chief executive of Total Access Communication (DTAC), said DTAC has yet to pick the network suppliers for its 3G project. Recently, he said DTAC is expected to spend Bt5 billion on its development.

DTAC had used an Ericsson network to test 3G on its 850MHz spectrum in Maha Sarakham last month.

One telecom analyst said the cellular operators might not spend that much on service development as they want to gauge how much real demand was out there first.

But if the cellular operators can develop 3G on the new 2000MHz spectrum, they would spend some Bt20 billion each to deploy 3G nationwide, he said.

The National Telecommuni-cations Commission is expected to award licences for 2,000MHz, the international platform for 3G, next year. All of the cellular operators said they would apply for the licence.

The cellular operators have to compete to launch 3G on existing spectra to build up their brand image.

Offering 3G under the state concessions means they still have to pay high concession fees to TOT or CAT Telecom.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation