NBTC, telecoms agree on per-second call package rates
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The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and five telecom operators agreed yesterday that all their airtime call packages launched after February 16 or March 1 at the latest, depending on their readiness, will bill on a per-second basis
The five operators are Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication (DTAC), True, TOT and CAT Telecom.
The average charge for second-generation service must not exceed 99 satang per minute and for 3G on the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum must not exceed 84 satang per minute, said Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC.
Mobile-phone subscribers can switch to these new packages free of charge, unless they are bound by their existing packages to stay with the cellular network for a certain period.
THAI BANS IVORY
Thai Airways International is joining the campaign against the illegal transport of ivory by banning such shipments on all of its flights.
“THAI has joined in the fight against the trade of ivory. We don’t support publicising ivory products through our communications channels,” Poonsak Chumchuay, managing director of the cargo, mail and commercial department, said yesterday.
The move is in line with the government’s policy to stop the illegal ivory trade.
Thailand now allows domestic ivory trading, but the import and export of ivory or all ivory products are strictly prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, better known as CITES.
THAI is coordinating closely with the Customs Department and functions at Suvarnabhumi Airport for strict inspection of departing flights and transit shipments, especially flights to and from risk areas.
This policy is being implemented by all THAI cargo offices worldwide to seek a permanent solution.
AIR ROUTES TO CLOSE
Thai Airways International’s board of directors has given the green light to scrapping three loss-making routes.
THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira said yesterday that the Bangkok-Madrid, Bangkok-Moscow and Phuket-Seoul routes would be cancelled on March 29, after cutting the Bangkok-Johannesburg route on January 15.
Although many Russian tourists come to Thailand, most of them fly on chartered planes, not commercial airlines.
Other destinations from Bangkok may also be axed to stanch red ink, including Colombo, Kunming, Denpasar (Bali), Muscat, Hyderabad, Sapporo, Brussels, Rome and Milan. This is in line with the target to cut 10 per cent of capacity.
The company will also increase its income through China and Japan routes and more popular routes may be added.
Based on THAI’s rehabilitation plan, 14 aircraft will be retired and 22 will be sold in July. The types of planes will be streamlined from 11 to eight. Staff lay-offs have not been considered yet, as the carrier is focusing on business restructuring and possible spin-offs of business units.
