Mobile LTE vies for partnership with TOT

The spotlight has fallen on Mobile LTE, which was founded by a group of investors on October 27 with Bt100 million in registered capital for telecommunications and information-technology business. Yanyong Akrajindanon, a former AIS executive who now is director of Mobile LTE, said the company was serious about forming a partnership with TOT.

Yanyong said that if TOT selected Mobile LTE as its strategic partner, the company would forge a partnership with AIS to help it develop the business under the new partnership. Mobile LTE would also be supported by a listed company, which he declined to name, to raise funds to develop the business under the proposed TOT partnership.

A TOT source said Mobile LTE proposed to partner with the state agency to provide third-generation mobile broadband service on 2.1 gigahertz as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), aiming to acquire between 12 million and 15 million subscribers. Mobile LTE is ready to invest in a 4G network for TOT and will allow the agency to hold a 25-per-cent stake in the company.

The company also guarantees that TOT will earn around Bt2.5 billion per year for five years from the MVNO partnership. 

The TOT source said AIS had also proposed to be a TOT strategic partner in five business areas, namely mobile, telecommunication towers, other infrastructure, international gateways, and fixed broadband. True proposed to partner with TOT in six areas, including Internet data service.