TOT's 3G rollout running behind schedule
TOT's rollout of a 3G wireless broadband network across the country has proceeded slowly, which casts doubt on the timeline of installing almost 3,500 base stations in 18 provinces, including Greater Bangkok, by next month.
The schedule calls for 4,772 base stations nationwide next year.
A TOT source said only 40 per cent of the 3,458 base stations in the initial phase had been completed, due to the need to coordinate with other parties sharing the infrastructure.
The TOT 3G network might cover all 18 provinces in November but with fewer base stations, the source said.
In May, TOT awarded the construction contract to a Loxley-Samart consortium, which has finished importing all the equipment for the project.
TOT is aiming for 1.3 million 3G users of this new network this year and 7 million in 2015. That is up from about 200,000 on its existing 3G network in Greater Bangkok, which debuted in December 2009 and now has some 500 base stations.
TOT is still waiting for its new board of directors to push ahead its plan to lease 3G capacity on the new network to firms that will retail the service.
The capacity-leasing plan has already been partially drafted but was halted pending the change of government.
The ICT Ministry has sent the names of its representatives who will sit on the TOT and CAT Telecom boards to the Finance Ministry, which owns 100 per cent of both state enterprises.
Panthep Chamrasromran, who reportedly has close ties to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has been tipped as TOT chairman.
TOT is pinning its hopes on the 3G-2.1GHz service to drive its revenue.
