Business plan targets overall improvement

In its international call-service business, CAT targets achieving outgoing calls of 710 million minutes in its network this year. It will further cut the call rate of the overseas call service and aggressively promote the sales of international call cards and broaden the card sales channel in order to meet the revenue target.

For its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular service, it will promote CAT CDMA brand awareness, increase the distribution channel of its CDMA prepaid refill cards as well as make heavy inroads among corporate customers. It will launch the calling melody service and video streaming and other non-voice services in the third quarter.

CAT operates CDMA network in 51 provinces, while its joint venture Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia operates the separate network in 25 provinces.

Hutch targets 1.2 million subscribers this year, up from around one million. CAT CDMA service, which currently has 300,000 subscribers, targets 500,000 subscribers this year.

Regarding the broadband Internet business, CAT plans to completely install 5,537 broadband Internet connection ports within this year for the corporate users and completely install 127,800 ports for individual users.

The state agency will spend Bt90 million on promoting the brand awareness of its data communications services and with the revenue target of not less than Bt8.51 billion this year. Its sales has to work out competitive price rates to woo more customers and CAT will woo telecom operators to be its data communications service business partners.

CAT intends to completely draw up the network and equipment leasing contract with True Move within the early third quarter in order to gain revenue from the leasing deal.

CAT has extended the term of True Move's concession by five years, in the form of a network-leasing contract. As a result, True Move will be able to continue using its present network until 2018 after its concession ends in September 2013.

CAT targets the concession revenue from Total Access Communication (DTAC) of Bt8.586 billion this year, Bt4.368 billion from True Move, and Bt372 million from Digital Phone Co, with combined total concession revenue of Bt13.326 billion.

CAT has also set aside a budget of Bt8.8 billion for investment in providing to the customers broadband Internet connectivity via the fibre to the premise network.

In the first quarter this year, CAT posted total revenue of Bt11.87 billion, down from Bt11.94 billion over the same period last year and falling short of the target of Bt12.924 billion, as its main businesses failed to achieve the revenue targets. Its private mobile concessions also contributed lesser concession revenue, due to ebbing revenue in this economic downturn.

If the concession revenue is excluded, CAT would suffer a loss of Bt208 million in the first quarter, due to the sharp drop in its overseas call revenue because of the declining number of inbound tourists.

Its concession revenue in the first quarter stood at Bt3.80 billion versus Bt3.96 billion over the same period last year and the quarterly target of Bt4.31 billion. The concession revenue in March alone was at Bt1.13 billion, versus the target of Bt1.44 billion.

Its overseas call revenue in the quarter was Bt1.50 billion. In March alone, the revenue was at Bt521 million, versus the target of Bt581 million, due to heavy competition and the declining economy.

CDMA revenue from CAT and Hutch stood at a combined Bt704 million in the first quarter, up from Bt630 million over the same period last year but down from the target of Bt1.03 billion. In March alone, the service revenue was Bt211 million, falling short of the target of Bt353 million.

Of the total CDMA revenue in the first quarter, Bt455 million were from Hutch, down from Bt469 million over the same period last year. In March alone, Hutch's revenue contribution was over Bt136 million versus the target of over Bt169 million.

CAT CDMA network in 51 provinces contributed revenue of over Bt249 million in the first quarter, up from Bt161 million over the same period last year. In March alone, it generated revenue of Bt74.22 million, versus the target of Bt182.78 million.

CAT's broadband Internet business revenue was Bt1.87 billion in the first quarter, dropping from Bt1.90 billion over the same period last year. In March alone the business made Bt641 million revenue versus the target of Bt683 million, due to the intensifying competition.