Brekke determined to get Telenor ahead of Singtel in Asia

Telenor Asia is keen to invest in many countries, including India, Indonesia and the Philippines, to expand its presence and will strive to turn Total Access Communication (DTAC) into the leading cellular operator in Thailand.

DTAC, which has Norway's Telenor as a strategic partner, has more than 17 million subscribers, while market leader Advanced Info Service (AIS) has nearly 26 million subscribers. SingTel is AIS's strategic partner.

Headquartered in Thailand, Telenor Asia oversees four mobilephone operators in Asia - DTAC, Telenor Pakistan, DiGi in Malaysia and Grameenphone in Bangladesh  as well as exploring new business opportunities in Asia. The four operators had a combined total of 62 million subscribers in the second quarter.

Asia accounted for onefourth of Telenor's revenue of more than US$5 billion (Bt169 billion) in the second quarter, of which $571.7 million was from DTAC, $352 million from DiGi, $203.8 million from Grameenphone and $184.6 million from Telenor Pakistan.

SingTel's mobilephone businesses in Asia includes AIS, the Bharti Telecom Group in India, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, Telkomsel in Indonesia and Warid Telecom in Pakistan.

SingTel's cellular customers in the region totalled 197.71 million in the second quarter. Bharti had 69.38 million, Telkomsel 52.44 million, AIS 25.96 million, Globe 22.74 million, Warid 15.49 million and Pacific Bangladesh 1.7 million.

Its customer base at Australia's Optus reached 7.24 million, while SingTel had 2.75 million.

DTAC is also waiting for the National Telecommunications Commission to approve its network upgrade to 3G mobile broadband technology. It will provide the 3G service on its existing 850MHz spectrum, which will enable it to offer a lowcost service in the provinces.

DTAC is set to select one of three network providers - NokiaSiemens, Ericsson and Huawei Technologies - to be its sole 3G net¬work supplier.

Although DTAC has lost the battle to AIS in the 2G cellular market, it will not let history repeat itself in the 3G race, said Brekke, who will leave his CEO post at DTAC to become CEO of Telenor Asia on September 1. He will also become DTAC's vice chairman.

Like other telecom operators, DTAC is eager to apply for a licence to operate WiMax technology, which can provide longdistance broadband Internet connectivity, to complement its 3G business. The NTC is expected to grant licences next year.

Brekke said Telenor mobilephone operators in Asia would also apply DTAC's successful marketing models in order to expand their market share. One model is "mob" marketing, which sees DTAC executives and staff roaming the streets to promote new products.