Thai Telecom Aims for 100,000 CDMA Wireless Customers

28th November 2002 By Komsan Tortermvasana, Bangkok Post, Thailand

Thai Mobile, which is scheduled to launch its mobile-phone service commercially today, says it is aiming to sign up 100,000 subscribers by the end of next month.

The launch by Thai Mobile, a joint venture of TOT Corp and the Communications Authority of Thailand, will be followed on Friday by the announcement of launch details for a rival service using CDMA technology.

Thai Mobile, which operates on the 1900 MHz frequency, is starting with 5,000 subscribers, most of whom are civil servants or subscribers to TOT's fixed-line services who took part in trials of the network.

TOT Corp chairman Supachai Pisitvanich said the official commercial launch was made possible after Thai Mobile agreed with Advanced Info Service on a network roaming rate of two baht per minute, compared with 2.10 baht which AIS charges Digital Phone, a sister company.

Mr Supachai said a roaming agreement would be signed very soon with AIS. As part of today's launch, Thai Mobile is making a special offer. It will charge 300 baht a month, including calls normally costing up to 4,000 baht a month, until end of March.

Calls above the 4,000-baht limit will cost 1.50 baht a minute for Thai Mobile's network in Bangkok and two baht a minute on the AIS nationwide network.

Mr Supachai said that Thai Mobile would not make anything from calls on the AIS network because it would be required to pay AIS two baht a minute. However, Thai Mobile was looking at the long-term benefits of expanding its services.

The first phase of the commercial launch would be able to serve 300,000 subscribers. Thai Mobile's has 300 base stations in place, out of 500 planned for the first phase, but now intends to install 1,100.

The network would be able to serve 750,000 subscribers soon, he said, adding he was unable to say at this stage whether Thai Mobile alone would invest in network expansion or depend on the AIS network.

Thai Mobile is the only operator that holds the right to the coveted 1900 MHz radio spectrum that can be adopted to handle advanced services for the transmission of data and other non-voice services, known as the Third Generation.

Jrarat Pingclasai, the chief executive of International Engineering Plc, a co-marketer of Thai Mobile, said the company now had unlimited tri-band handsets to serve Thai Mobile.

The handsets are being sold by IEC and Samart E-Trading, each of which is aiming to sell 50,000 handsets by the end of next month.

Meanwhile, Rival Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia, a joint venture of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and the CAT, is preparing for launch of the CDMA 2000 service.

Hutchison is testing the system with senior CAT officials and is expecting to make a soft-launch in January and start full commercial services in March.

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