Govt worried about slow 3G rollout

The ministry is concerned that if the network rollout is carried out too slowly, it could affect the overall development of the country’s broadband networks, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said.

He added that it is the ministry’s duty to help the state telecom agencies under its aegis solve problems and implement projects efficiently.

TOT is scheduled to complete the first-phase roll out 5,320 3G base stations by the end of May. Last year it hired the Loxley-Samart consortium to install the base stations nationwide at a cost of around Bt15.9 billion.

But according to Samart’s recent estimate, only 3,000 bases will be ready by May, due to flooding last October and November, with the rest likely to be in place by the third quarter. As of early this month, 1,000 base stations were available, of which 800 were operating.

The state agency is working out the details of its recruitment of new partners to provide 3G service on its existing 3G network. TOT plans to install 15,000 more 3G base stations worth Bt30 billion this year. This phase will include the 4G network rollout.

TOT has pinned its hopes on the existing 3G service as its new revenue source. Its total revenue last year was about Bt77.61 billion, of which around Bt23 billion was concession revenue. Its net profit last year was about Bt9.2 billion.

TOT and CAT Telecom are likely to experience financial difficulties after their private concessions end, as concession fees are among their main revenue sources.

TOT’s main concession is that of Advanced Info Service (AIS), which will expire in 2015. CAT owns the concessions of TrueMove, Digital Phone Co (DPC) and Total Access Communication (DTAC). The concessions of TrueMove and DPC will end next September, and DTAC’s ends in 2018.