Real Move likely to get extra numbers soon after 'breakthrough with CAT'
Real Move, the provider of third-generation cellular service under the TrueMove H brand, is likely to gain additional mobile-phone numbers soon, now that CAT Telecom has agreed that the company can pay the state agency's overdue number fee to the national
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s telecom committee this week decided to |grant an additional 1.75 million numbers to CAT, which |will pass some of the numbers to Real Move for service |provision.
However, the NBTC requires CAT to pay the overdue fee |of Bt45 million for CAT’s existing 6 million numbers to the watchdog before it can obtain these extra numbers.
A Real Move source said the company had recently informed the NBTC that it would pay the overdue fee for CAT, and the watchdog is now waiting for an official letter from CAT to confirm this.
Real Move, which has 3 million subscribers and targets a total of 4 million by year-end, has just 1 million remaining mobile-phone numbers.
CAT had declined an earlier Real Move offer to pay the overdue fee to the NBTC.
The state agency was due to pay the fee in April, but cited the need to get Cabinet approval first for its investment under the CAT-True 3G partnership.
CAT has wholesaled its 850-megahertz bandwidth to Real Move to provide service under the 3G partnership between CAT and True Corp, which is Real Move’s parent.
Under the partnership, CAT has also provided its own 3G service on a retail basis under the My brand. Another firm in the True group, BFKT (Thailand), has rented 3G network equipment to CAT to generate 3G bandwidth.
BFKT has installed 7,000 base stations under the partnership, of which 5,000 were granted with permits to install and use by the NBTC. It is waiting for CAT to request similar permits for its remaining 2,000 bases.
CAT applied for the NBTC permits for all these stations on Real Move’s behalf.
