AIS hands 3.43m mobile numbers back to regulator
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Firm to focus on AWN's 3G service: CEO
Advanced Info Service (AIS) has returned the remaining 3.43 million mobile-phone numbers of its conventional cellular service to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and will now focus on sales of the new 3G 2.1-gigahertz service of its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN).
AIS chief executive officer Wichian Mektrakarn said AIS was shifting its focus to serve increased demand for 3G service in Thailand’s mobile-phone market. AWN plans to request additional mobile phone numbers from the NBTC.
The NBTC has already granted 14 million numbers to AWN, 10 million to Real Future and 8 million to DTAC Trinet, all of whom are holders of 2.1GHz licences.
AWN and Real Future launched their service two months ago, while DTAC Trinet will launch its service today.
AWN has almost 4.3 million subscribers, while Real Future has around 1,000.
Last year TrueMove, which holds CAT Telecom’s concession, returned 1.5 million mobile-phone numbers to the NBTC as its concession contract will end this September 15.
Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of the NBTC’s telecom committee, said the panel had ordered the NBTC’s office to draw up measures to deal with the return of mobile-phone numbers.
The telecom panel chief believes that more existing mobile-phone numbers will be returned to the NBTC in the near future by cellular operators whose concessions are about to expire.
AIS’ concession contract under TOT will end in the next two years. The company was assigned 45 million mobile phone numbers in 1990 by TOT and later by the NBTC. It had about 32.8 million subscribers as of the first quarter of this year.
Last Thursday, the NBTC telecom committee approved an additional 10 million mobile-phone numbers for CAT, which will be used to promote the wholesale of its cellular bandwidth for the 3G-850MHz service. There are at least five companies proposing to lease bandwidth from CAT.
The committee also granted an additional 5 million numbers to TOT, which wants to use them for its 3G-2.1GHz-service expansion. Since the TOT 3G service was launched in 2009, TOT and its 3G service resale partners have only managed to attract 200,0000 subscribers to the service.
