TOT, AIS to meet on row over assets
TOT plans to talk with Advanced Info Service to settle the ownership dispute over AIS's cellular network under its concession with the state telecom agency.
The State Enterprise Policy Commission or "superboard" on Monday gave the go-ahead to TOT and CAT Telecom to negotiate with the telecom companies that hold concessions from them on who will own the telecom networks and how the two state enterprises can jointly maximise their telecommunications-tower infrastructure.
Djitt Laowattana, a TOT director, said yesterday that TOT would follow the superboard’s policy by talking with AIS on the matter.
TOT and AIS have sent eight disputes to arbitration, including one over the ownership of the 13,198 telecom towers installed under the build-transfer-operate terms of the concession.
"We might follow CAT’s model by setting up joint ventures for each of our concessions to operate our telecom towers," he said.
CAT has approached Total Access Communication (DTAC) and TrueMove about resolving the disagreements over ownership of the telecom towers they use.
DTAC offered to transfer all of the towers under its concession to CAT and set up a joint venture with CAT that will lease them back to DTAC.
True Corp asked CAT to sell the network assets to its telecom infrastructure fund.
AIS has proposed joining with TOT in managing the 13,198 telecom towers under its concession, but TOT has yet to make a decision.
According to the build-operate-transfer terms, the private operators have to transfer assets under their concessions to the state telecom enterprises after their concessions expire.
CAT and DTAC are engaged in a legal ownership battle over 10,419 telecom towers under that concession, while CAT and TrueMove are wrangling over 8,031 telecom towers.
The private telecom operators in recent months have tried to seek ways to clear up these conflicts with the state enterprises by suggesting partnerships.
