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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Thailand'

TOT’s to relaunch GSM mobile (Thailand)

  • August 5th, 2008
  • 6:41 am

According to the Telco’s Chairman Teerawut Boonyasopon, TOT’s plan to relaunch failed GSM mobile operator Thai Mobile as a nationwide UMTS 3G wholesale service provider is likely to suffer delays due to political red tape. Recently, TOT has decided to buy all the shares not owned in Thai from sister telco CAT. They have proclaim the plan to invest a total of $870 million to roll out a network of 5,200 W-CDMA base stations by 2012 and rent capacity to private mobile operators. After the approval from the Finance Ministry, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the Office of the Public Debt Management and the cabinet, TOT will begin to draft the TOR (Terms of References). Also call for the auction of the electronic equipment.

DTAC’s profits rise by 193% (Thailand)

  • July 24th, 2008
  • 9:51 am

DTAC, Thailand’s second largest cellco by subscribers, has reported that its second-quarter net profits rose by 193% year-on-year to USD117 million (THB3.9 billion), up from THB1.33 billion a year earlier, and THB2.35 billion in the previous quarter.
The GSM operator, controlled by Norway’s Telenor, also reported a 45% year-on-year rise in second-quarter EBITDA, and a 181% increase in EBIT. Capital expenditure was down by 4% y-o-y in the quarter, which DTAC ended with 17.433 million subscribers, up from 16.656 million at the end of March 2008 and 14.476 million at mid-2007.

   

Telenor lowers it’s annual sales growth forecast (World)

  • July 23rd, 2008
  • 10:54 am

Telenor lowered its annual sales growth forecast, as it has started feel the pressure from high inflation in emerging markets such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand.

The Norwegian company now expects annual sales up around 3 percent, versus a previous estimate for 5 percent growth, but maintained its EBITDA margin estimate of over 31 percent. In the second quarter, revenues rose 3 percent from a year earlier to NOK 27.18 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased to NOK 9.32 billion from NOK 9.25 billion, giving a margin of 34.3 percent. Net profit fell to NOK 3.54 billion from NOK 3.86 billion a year ago due to foreign exchange charges.

   

SingTel said to considering China Telecom investment (Singapore)

  • June 5th, 2008
  • 3:13 pm

The Wall Street Journal reports that Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) is considering investing in China Telecom Corp, the world’s largest fixed line operator by lines in service. However, citing unnamed sources the report states that formal talks have yet to begin. SingTel, 55-owned by Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, holds stakes in mobile phone operators in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It also owns Optus in Australia.

   

 

 

DTAC says 3G unlikely until 2009

  • June 5th, 2008
  • 2:57 pm

Thailand’s second largest cellco by subscribers, DTAC, said yesterday that it will likely have to delay 3G services until 2009 because of regulatory issues. DTAC has formed a loose alliance with CAT Telecom for the development of 3G on its existing 850Mhz frequency, but the cellco is waiting for the state firm’s board to give the green light to the project. ‘We have been waiting a long time for CAT’s board to approve this,’ said DTAC chief commercial officer Thana Thienachariya. ‘We hope we should be able to do it within nine to twelve months after we receive approval from CAT and the regulator.’ He added that he was unable to provide any reasons for CAT’s delay. CAT executives have so far refused to provide any explanation.

   

 

 

 

DTAC goes it alone in 3G race (Thailand)

  • April 29th, 2008
  • 2:49 pm

Thailand’s second largest cellco, GSM operator DTAC, has shelved plans to form a joint venture with state-run CAT Telecom to roll out 3G services, and is instead going it alone in upgrading 2G networks to UMTS standard under a THB5 billion (USD160 million) plan, reports the Bangkok Post. CEO Sigve Brekke said DTAC expected to roll out commercial 3G services in Phuket and Chon Buri by the end of this year, building up to nationwide coverage in 2009. DTAC, a subsidiary of Norway’s Telenor, plans to utilise its legacy 850MHz frequency band to roll out W-CDMA/HSDPA technology enabling mobile internet access at speeds of up to 1Mbps. Brekke said that setting up a 3G partnership with CAT would take more time because it required Cabinet approval. However DTAC still needs approval for the plan from CAT, under its build-transfer-operate (BTO) network operating concession with the state telco, and is set to meet with CAT’s board this week to discuss the matter. The CEO said DTAC had three possible 3G equipment suppliers lined up, and added that his firm recently took over three content providers – Radio Fat Co, Play Sabai Co and Create Co – for a combined THB150 million to help build up a range of downloadable 3G content. Mr Brekke also said that DTAC would not entirely abandon joint-venture plans with CAT and would seek to develop the partnership after the commercial rollout of 3G. ‘We are willing to have CAT as our partner. [the venture] can be formed after the launch,’ he said.

DTAC’s larger GSM rival Advanced Info Service (AIS) appears to have a headstart in the race to launch UMTS, after announcing earlier this month that it would soft launch a 3G network using existing 900MHz spectrum in Chiang Mai by the end of May, and hoped to do the same in Bangkok in June. Thailand’s National Telecommunications Commission is yet to issue 2100MHz UMTS licences, but is expected to do so in the second half of this year.

   
 

AIS wants 3G in capital by June (Thailand)

  • April 24th, 2008
  • 2:01 pm

Thailand’s mobile market leader Advanced Info Service (AIS) says it wants to launch commercial 3G services in Chiang Mai next month and in Bangkok in June, reports the Bangkok Post. The firm’s president Wichian Mektrakarn said that the launch of W-CDMA/HSDPA services over a 900MHz network would take place first in Chiang Mai after his company had prepared 30 base stations for a ‘commercial trial’ with state-run telco TOT, the owner of AIS’s build-transfer-operate (BTO) telecoms licence. But he said that AIS was awaiting clarification from the regulator the NTC, expected within 30 days, to determine whether the rollout could encompass a full commercial launch. For the planned Chiang Mai service, Mektrakarn said that users needed to register or replace their existing SIM cards with compatible ones. AIS, together with TOT, has reportedly received permission from the NTC to import 3G/3.5G equipment for an initial launch of 900MHz services, and is in the process of seeking the watchdog’s consent to expand the network to Bangkok. That the strategy was hatched out of frustration at the long delays in issuing 2100MHz UMTS licences in Thailand, which are now hoped for later this year, and the licensing malaise has also led to rival cellco DTAC proposing to partner its BTO network host CAT Telecom in a rollout of 800MHz/850MHz 3G services, using frequencies re-farmed from a legacy analogue network.

   

 

 

AIS to launch 3.5G next month over UMTS-900 platform (Thailand)

  • April 10th, 2008
  • 1:21 pm

Advanced Info Services (AIS) has announced that it will launch commercial 3.5G mobile broadband services for handset users next month, including high speed internet access and video calling, reports the Bangkok Post. The CEO of Thailand’s leading cellco by subscribers, Vikrom Sriprataks, said that the new ‘3GSM Advance’ suite of services would be based on high speed packet access (HSPA) technology utilising the existing 900MHz frequency band. AIS had previously signed an agreement with its GSM concession holder TOT to upgrade the 900MHz network to support W-CDMA/HSPA, whilst regulator the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has given TOT permission to take delivery of 3.5G equipment. AIS expects to introduce mobile broadband services in Chiang Mai on 6 May and in Bangkok in mid-June. The operator’s president Wichian Mektrakarn said AIS could not wait for the NTC to issue 2GHz UMTS licences, expected in the second half of this year. He added that the company had already invested THB600 million (USD19 million) to install HSPA equipment in 20 provinces. AIS’s chief marketing officer Sanchai Teoprasertkul said that its HSPA network would support maximum download speeds of 7.2Mbps, compared with 160kbps on its existing EDGE network, and added that 3GSM Advance would initially be available to post-paid customers, with the aim of signing up 80,000 users by the end of this year. The Shin Corp subsidiary is planning to charge THB3 (USD0.095) per minute for video calls and THB100 (USD3.17) a month for data usage of 500MB. Mr Sanchai added that AIS expected 3GSM Advance to increase non-voice revenues by 20% this year.

   

 

DTAC’s EBITDA climbs 6.9%, sales rise 38% (Thailand)

  • February 11th, 2008
  • 1:39 pm

Thailand’s second largest cellco by subscribers DTAC’s EBITDA rose 6.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2007 to NOK850 million (USD154 million), on revenues of NOK2.985 billion, up 38% from NOK2.158 billion a year ago. In a report to the Thai and Singapore stock exchanges, the GSM operator, which is 70.6%-owned by Norway’s Telenor, said that CAPEX of NOK717 million during the quarter was up on its 3Q figure of NOK428 million but down from the year-ago investment of NOK737 million. EBIT in 4Q 2007 was NOK326 million, down from NOK410 million a year earlier but marginally above the NOK308 million posted in the third quarter. At the end of December 2007 DTAC had 15.772 million mobile customers, up from 14.878 million at end-September and 11.869 million at the beginning of the year.

   

 

Hutchison writes down value of Thai operation (Thailand)

  • January 19th, 2008
  • 6:53 am

Hutchison Telecom International has announced it will take an impairment charge of HKD 3.854 billion in its full-year 2007 results to write down the value of its Thai mobile operations. It will also realise a tax credit from the operations of HKD 421 million. As a result of the charges, the company expects to report a loss from continuing operations for the year. Hutchison warned already last year of pressure on prices at its Thai subsidiary due to intense competition on the market. Its mobile service Hutch CAT is run in a joint venture with local operator CAT Telecom.