Delay for 3G launch, pending Council of State on contract development

"Due to the regulatory uncertainty, it is most likely that our commercial launch will be delayed from the initial plan," CEO Tore Johnsen said earlier this week.

DTAC and True Move, which operate cellular services on con-cessions from CAT Telecom, have not been granted permission

from CAT to launch 3G full scale, but only for testing the technology.

The commercial launch is pending the opinion of the Council of State on how the public-private joint venture committee overseeing their concessions should develop a contract to cover the 3G service.

Johnsen said DTAC wants to wait until all regulatory issues are sorted out before making a final decision on its next step.

Both DTAC and True Move plan to launch 3G on 800MHz bands. However, DTAC has yet to transfer 5MHz of bandwidth from the 850MHz spectrum to True Move for 3G.

In June, CAT and DTAC jointly adjusted the whole 800MHz spectrum to allocate 5MHz to True Move. CAT controls the 800MHz spectrum, which is being used by DTAC and Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia.

DTAC has pinned its hopes on 3G to be its new growth engine by tapping demand for wireless broadband Internet access.

True Corp, the parent of True Move, likewise looks to 3G to enhance its group business, which includes fixed-line broadband Internet service.

All the telecom operators, including CAT, are anxiously waiting for the National Telecommunications Commission to award 3G licences for the 2.1GHz spectrum.

The watchdog has said it intends to start issuing the licences in the middle of next year.