TOT and CAT set for new partnerships with private operators
TOT and CAT Telecom are expected to clinch new partnerships with private telecommunication operators this year as they try to survive market competition.
TOT has announced its intention to select new partners this quarter. Five private telecom operators have expressed interest in being its partners, including both of its own concession holders: Advanced Info Service (AIS) and True Corp. The others are Loxley, Samart Corp and Mobile LTE.
AIS and True have proposed partnering with TOT in almost every area of the state agency’s business, ranging from mobile-phone service to telecom infrastructure leasing.
True reportedly proposed to both CAT and TOT that they sell their telecom network assets to the True Telecommunications Growth Infrastructure Fund – part of True’s attempt to secure a partnership with both state agencies. CAT and True are long-standing partners in providing third-generation cellular service on the 850-megahertz spectrum.
A TOT source said True had also proposed to collaborate with the agency on the submarine cable network and to establish a mobile-phone network for TOT’s exclusive use to wholesale bandwidth. In addition, it proposed helping TOT market its fixed-line telephone and Internet services. True also plans to lease from TOT its own fixed-line telephone network, which it has operated under a TOT concession, once that concession ends in three years.
The TOT source added that AIS proposed to manage jointly with the agency the company’s telecommunication towers, currently operated by AIS under TOT concession. They might set up a joint venture to manage the towers. The largest cellular operator is also keen to lease TOT’s 3G network, which has the capacity for 1 million phone numbers.
As for CAT, the agency and its concession holder Total Access Communication signed a memorandum of understanding in late 2014 to establish a collaborative relationship and enter constructive dialogue to promote the sharing of their network infrastructure and network-access businesses. Both CAT and TOT want strong partners to help them survive after they began passing their annual concession income, their main revenue source, to the state from December 2013 as required under the 2010 Frequency Allocation Act.
