CAT to discuss court ruling with DTAC

 

Narupon Rattanasamaharn, DTAC senior vice president and head of its regulatory division, said it would file an appeal with the court within the next 30 days.

CAT acting chief executive officer Sanpachai Huvanandana said the state agency interpreted the court’s ruling as indicating that DTAC would have to remove its equipment from CAT’s network, which could affect the company’s customers.

“But we don’t want to do anything to affect its customers, so we will call in DTAC to discuss the matter first,” Sanpachai said.

A DTAC source said that besides CAT’s network, the mobile-phone operator was establishing its third-generation 2.1-gigahertz service on its own new network outside the concession, as well as on the networks it has leased from other telecom operators. 

Therefore, its customers would not be affected if its 2.1GHz equipment on the CAT network had to be disconnected.

Sanpachai said CAT would also ask for a court order to restrict TrueMove and Digital Phone Co from allowing other parties to expand 3G service on CAT’s network under their concessions.

DTAC group has set up 2.1GHz equipment on 7,000 of CAT’s more than 10,000 telecommunication towers, a CAT source said.

 

CAT filed a petition

According to DTAC’s filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand last Friday, on October 15, 2014, CAT filed a petition asking the Central Administrative Court to grant an injunctive relief restricting the company from further installing or connecting (or allowing 3G mobile operators to install or connect) 2.1GHz equipment to the telecom equipment comprising the base transceiver stations. 

CAT alleged that it had title to all such telecom equipment.

Last Thursday, DTAC received the order from the court granting the injunction as requested by CAT, the company told the SET. 

“The court order is not final and the company believes, on the basis of advice it obtained from its legal advisers, that it will be able to revoke the court order successfully as, among other things, the court order is contrary to its co-sharing obligations under applicable law and infrastructure-sharing notification of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunica-tions Commission. 

“The NBTC mandates co-use of mobile telecom assets for environmental and efficiency purposes,” it said.

“DTAC believes that the court order will not have material adverse impact on the company’s or its 3G operator subsidiary DTAC TriNet Co’s operations and provisions of mobile services because DTAC TriNet has already expanded its 3G coverage intensively during the past few years to satisfy the demand for data of its customers and any future expansions of DTAC TriNet would, while the court order has not yet been revoked, be made by way of using its own infrastructure and/or through other means. Thus customers of DTAC and DTAC TriNet will not be affected.”

DTAC TriNet holds an NBTC licence to provide 3G service on the 2.1GHz spectrum.

DTAC’s share price yesterday fell 2.72 per cent to close at Bt89.50.