BT10 bn for 2G network buy-back 'fair'
True Corp chief executive officer Supachai Chearavanont yesterday said the Bt10 billion that TrueMove had proposed to CAT Telecom for buying back its 2G network from the state agency was an appropriate figure.
CAT chief executive officer Jirayuth Rungsrithong recently said the network should be worth more than this amount.
Supachai said the Bt10 billion had been arrived at from the network's net present value. If TrueMove opted to roll out a new 2G network, instead of buying the current one back from CAT, the cost is estimated to be no more Bt10 billion.
He added that if the talks to repurchase the network failed, the company would have to roll out the new 2G network on its own.
A telecom analyst said TrueMove's network asset value as of last December was around Bt31.18 billion, of which about Bt10 billion was the value of cell sites.
CAT plans to sell only the cell sites back to TrueMove. TrueMove is True Corp's cellular flagship, holding a CAT concession. Under the build-transfer-operate system, all cellular operators will have to transfer their networks to the state concession owners after the contract terms end.
CAT plans to sell TrueMove's 2G network back to the company as part of its preparation for the expiry of all of its cellular concession holders. TrueMove's concession term ends in 2013.
TrueMove also proposed to CAT that if they reached agreement on |the network buy-back, it would execute the deal only if it could secure back its 1,800MHz spectrum from the upcoming National Broad-|casting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in order to continue providing 2G service on its existing network.
Once the concession terms end, cellular operators have to transfer their spectra to the watchdog, which will reallocate them via auction.
Besides the 1,800MHz spectrum, True Corp is also interested in bidding for 2.1GHz and 2.6GHz spectra from the NBTC, said Supachai, adding that this would be to support True group's 3G service offering.
True subsidiary Real Move officially launched the 3G service on Tuesday. Supachai said Real Move soon would need more bandwidth to serve the fast-rising demand for wireless data usage. Real Move targets 5 million subscribers for the service by the end of next year.
Supachai added that True no longer needed to urgently seek a financial partner to back up its 3G service development, due to the group's improving financial status.
True has gained credit from suppliers in the 3G network roll-out, as well as about Bt14 billion from its rights offering in May.
