Tower dispute near solution, CAT says
CAT TELECOM has made a lot of progress towards resolving the legal battle with its two private concession holders over the ownership of telecommunications towers, the state agency's acting president says.
Colonel Sanpachai Huvanandana said he expected CAT to wrap up its
talks with Total Access Communication (DTAC) soon and submit the
solution of the dispute for the board’s consideration next month. If the
board approves the agreement, CAT will forward it for the consideration of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, the State
Enterprise Policy Commission, and the Cabinet.
CAT’s talks with its other concession holder, TrueMove, to resolve a
similar dispute is also showing progress, he said.
“But I cannot disclose the details of the talks until we reach the final solu
tions and they are approved by the board and Cabinet, as they are confi
dential,” he said, adding that the talks had been conducted in strict compliance with relevant law and regulations.
Earlier CAT said it expected to finish establishing Telecom Tower
Company by the third quarter to manage telecommunications towers cur
rently under its concessions.
A CAT source said that as part of the attempts to solve its dispute |
with DTAC, it might set up a 49:51 joint venture with that company to
manage the disputed towers, with DTAC holding the majority of the JV.
The value of CAT shares in the venture would be based on the state
agency’s 12,000 telecom towers under the concession it granted to DTAC.
The source added that DTAC want ed this dispute to be completely set
tled as soon as possible, so that it would be free of worry of any possible problems affecting its third-generation service on the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum, which is transmitted on about 7,000 disputed towers under the concession.
CAT and DTAC signed a memorandum of understanding last
December, aiming to establish a collaborative relationship and construc
tive discussion in order to promote their infrastructure, network-sharing
and network-access business.
The junta-appointed State Enterprise Policy Commission recent
ly urged both CAT and the other state telecom agency, TOT, to settle their disputes with their concession holders, and work out how the two state enterprises can jointly maximise their telecommunications-tower infrastructure.
