TOT prepares for True ruling
The TOT board will have an urgent meeting today to prepare moves for the Central Administrative Court's upcoming ruling on its network revenue sharing dispute, involving Bt9.17 billion with its concession holder True Corp.
Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap said TOT had informed him about the case. He told the state agency to prepare to appeal if it loses. The court is expected to give its verdict next month.
If ruling is in True’s favour, it may affect TOT’s financial status. The state agency faces risks of declining revenue on many fronts. From January 2014 onwards, TOT and CAT Telecom have to pass all concession fees, their main source of revenue, to state coffers, under the 2010 Frequency Allocation Law. The concession of Advanced Info Service under TOT will also end in late 2015.
True sought arbitration in the case against TOT in late 2002, claiming a share of benefits gained by TOT for providing special services on True network and from TOT permission for others to provide special services on True network.
The arbitration panel ruled in 2006 that TOT has to pay True a sum of Bt9.175 billion. This prompted TOT to seek a court order to overrule the ruling.
