Thailand 3G auction process revealed (Thailand)
Thailand’s regulator has announced that it will adopt the slot demand and supply based model for the upcoming 3G auction in place of the n-1 formula, according to a report by GSM Insider. According to the report, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commissioner Sethapong Malisuwan said that under the proposed system, the auction would be broken up into nine 5 MHz slots instead of three 15 MHz licences.
Each bidder would declare how many slots they wanted. For instance, with four vendors each wanting 15 MHz, that would mean 12 slots in demand against the 9 available.
The price of every slot would then go up and up until one of the bidders abandons a slot. The price would continue to rise again until there is demand for only 9 slots left among however many bidders there are.
The final system will be finalised by the end of April and the starting price will be announced by the end of May. Each operator would be limited to 15 or perhaps 20 MHz and a minimum of 5 MHz.
Sethapong added that it was unclear if the price would be higher or lower than the estimates in the aborted 2010 bid. He said that 2.1-GHz may not be the most valuable spectrum now as 1800-MHz LTE is more enticing to many operators.
He said that the expiring 25 MHz (12.5 by TrueMove and 12.5 by DPC, an AIS subsidiary) should be auctioned off six months before the concessions expire in September 2013.
Sethapong added that the auction would be conducted on a tight budget of between $970,000 and $1.3 million.
Finally, the commissioner said that anyone blocking this auction would be considered an enemy of the state and urged the public to join him in prayer to the spirits to ask for a successful auction.
Earlier, fellow commissioner Suthipol Thaweechaikarn said that all the operators would be called in to swear they would not use any loophole to stop the auction and similarly branded anyone trying to halt the auction as being unpatriotic.
TOT selects NSN to upgrade to HSPA+ for faster speed, better service (Thailand)
TOT, Thailand’s state-owned telecom operator, has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to upgrade its 3G network to HSPA+. This upgrade will improve mobile broadband services for the 7.2 million TOT customers and increase download speeds to even 42 megabits per second (Mbps) compared to the current 7.2 Mbps. The upgrade will be ready by April 2012.
Monchai Noosong, acting president at TOT, said that the Thai mobile market is extremely competitive, so they always need to ensure they are well ahead of the curve. With demand for data skyrocketing and operators looking to venture into the 3G space, they knew this was the right time to upgrade their 3G network. Nokia Siemens Networks has helped them scale up quickly enabling them to ride the mobile broadband wave sweeping the country. In addition, the company’s solution ensures an easy migration to LTE once that becomes topical for them.
Krittika Mahattanakul, head of Asia North, Asia Pacific region at Nokia Siemens Networks, said that as smartphones become more common also in Thailand and people start using data heavy applications on them, it is important that the mobile broadband networks can manage the capacity needs and provide enjoyable customer experience. Also, TOT is ensuring this by upgrading its network to HSPA+ early on.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ all-IP ready HSPA+ solution is based on the Dual Carrier HSDPA technology, Flexi Multiradio Base Station and the 3G Radio Network Multicontroller (RNC).The company will also deploy its Liquid Core’s COTS ATCA-based Open Mobile Switching Server (MSS), which together with the Flexi Multiradio Base Station enables a smooth transition to LTE.
The TOT network, including GSM and 3G, will be monitored and optimized by the Nokia Siemens Networks NetAct network management system. Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide its Location Based Services solution enabling TOT to offer Value Added Services (VAS), such as localized advertising.
Nokia Siemens Networks will provide TOT network planning, implementation and optimization services, as well as services for operations support and training.
Thailand to hold 2.1GHz 3G auction in Q3 (Thailand)
The regulatory authority in Thailand is hopeful of carrying out the 2.1 GHz 3G auction in the third quarter of the year and has requested for cooperation from the telecom operators.
According to reports, Sutthipol Thaweechaikarn, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commissioner for legal on the telecommunications half, said that he was ensuring that the 3G auction gets completed this year and was looking into any loophole that may cause a deviation.
Thaweechaikarn added that in order to ensure a smooth process he would request all telecom operators to swear in public to play fair, not collude in bidding and that anyone using a legal loophole to scupper the auction would be condemned as unpatriotic and holding back the country’s development.
ICT claims there are irregularities in CAT Telecom, True Corp deals (Thailand)
According to reports, Anudith Nakornthap, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Minister, said that Thailand’s Ministry has found irregularities in deals between state-owned CAT Telecom PCL and True Corp. PCL that paved the way for the two firms to offer third-generation mobile services. He added that the two companies failed to comply with the relevant legislation while signing the contracts.
He said that the ministry will send its findings to the state’s anti-graft body, which will decide whether to take legal steps. However, he said that the contracts are still binding until the case is filed and the court rules otherwise.
As per reports, True Corp. signed a 15-year deal with CAT Telecom in January 2011. The deal enabled True Corp to install a 3G network on CAT’s High Speed Packet Access network, in exchange for the right to resell the service via its Real Move unit.
TrueMove and CAT Telecom 3G deal is definitely illegal (Thailand)
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry has claimed that the 3G deal between TrueMove H and state-owned CAT Telecom is definitely illegal. According to reports, it has been said that True is supplying the network to CAT while acting as an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator).
Anudith Nakornthap, ICT Minister, has said that the details of the report would be revealed next week. He added that they can guarantee that they will not keep silent on the issue. Further, no one can lobby them to stop their investigation.
An investigation by the senate had deemed the deal illegal earlier, and sent the matter to the National Counter Corruption Commission for a review.
As per repots, Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO, True, has said that that while he is willing to amend the contract to comply, but also said that it would be up to the courts to decide and that would take many years.
Dtac introduces new ‘super tiny’ prepaid plans (Thailand)
DTAC’s prepaid brand Happy, has introduced a bite-size strategy by launching ‘happy super jiew’ or ‘happy super tiny’ with minimum charge at only US$ 0.16. The new promotion aims to support customers’ needs in using value for money and exciting package, and at the same time, builds up value to happy existing customer base in the time that mobile phone penetration is at very high level. At its launch, the new on-top promotion will shift the pre-paid competition to variety of small packages that fit into various needs.
Amarit Sukhavanij, Senior Vice President, Market Division, Total Access Communication PLC. (dtac), said that happy’s challenge in 2012 is that mobile phone penetration is very high. However, they still see rooms to fill in for voice and data usage demand. Happy’s strategy this year is to add value to existing customers by completing on-top promotion with more attractive choices. Ther’ve been continuously developing Segmentation and Brand Strategy with comprehensive customer insights.
Further, they learn that they are people who like to try on new things, update on new trends and compare for the best choice, especially for the most value for money promotion when it comes to mobile phone usage. All lead to the initiative happy super jiew, new small prices on-top promotion that fits into different usages including voice as well as Internet, at the minimum charge of US$ 0.16 only. The promotion also allows customers to change according to daily usage needs.
Amarit added that they are certain that bite-size promotion will help grow happy market and its on-top sales in the future. Moreover, happy super jiew will enforce their happy brand characteristic in the way that it contains fun element to a pleasurable usage. Its pertaining promotions that will come to market in the near future will also add more fun choices to customers as well as position happy as leader of bite-size promotion in customers’ minds.
