TrueMove bids to keep 17m clients after concession
TRUEMOVE has applied for a licence from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) as part of its intention to continue to serve all its existing 17 million-plus subscribers after its concession ends on September 15, according to a
The executive, who did not want to be named, said that the NBTC is expected to reject TrueMove’s application. Granting the licence would effectively mean extending the concession contract for the company, which is beyond its purview.
Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of the NBTC’s telecom committee, said yesterday that the NBTC would conclude next month which party it would appoint to take care of the combined 17 million-plus subscribers of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co for one year as part of the draft plan to remedy these customers after the companies’ concession ends on September 15. The watchdog held the public hearing on the draft yesterday.
The telecom committee will improve the draft after the hearing and submit it to the NBTC’s board on August 14 before having it published in the Royal Gazette.
Some attendants at the hearing yesterday criticised the NBTC for moving at a slow pace in concluding the remedy plan.
Sudharma Yoonaidharma, a former member of the now defunct National Telecommunications Commission, said that the NBTC had taken too long to conclude this issue.
CAT Telecom’s senior executive vice president Kajornsak Singhaseni said that the NBTC should allow CAT to take care of all the 17 million-plus subscribers as CAT has an NBTC telecom licence and has all the telecom networks to supply the services to them. CAT owns the 1800MHz spectrum concessions of TrueMove and DPC.
A TOT representative said that this draft should not be applied to TOT’s 900MHz spectrum that the state agency has granted to Advanced Info Service (AIS) to provide service.
Though AIS’ concession will end in 2015, TOT can continue to use the spectrum, which was granted to TOT by the now-defunct Post and Telegraph Department and in the pre-NBTC era.
The NBTC intends to use this remedy plan in all cases when concessions come to an end in the future.
Noppadol Dej-udom, True Corp’s chief financial officer, said that if True is assigned by the NBTC to oversee TrueMove customers, it will not take any profit for providing the service to these customers and will pass on the revenue to the NBTC or any government’s agencies. However, if it suffers a loss from providing the service, it wants CAT and the NBTC to share the responsibility.
