TOT awards 3G contract to Samart (Thailand)
Thailand’s Samart Corp. has won the bidding to build TOT’s forthcoming 3G network following a public auction.
The action was nearly delayed after protests from Ericsson who claimed they had been unfairly dismissed from bidding, but a court order last night permitted it to go ahead.
The reserve bid for the network tender was set at US$561.30 million, and there were 17 bids during the auction.
The Samart consortium – which is made up of Samart, Loxley, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei – won with a minimum bid of US$527 million, which was 6.59% below the reserve price. The formal contract is expected to be signed next month with a limited service launch from April.
The state-owned TOT will then expand its 3G coverage of over 5,000 base stations nationwide within this year.
Two groups qualify for TOT’s 3G expansion (Thailand)
Two groups have qualified to participate in an auction for the contract to supply and install US$570 million worth of 3G equipment for Thai state-owned TOT’s national mobile network expansion.
The two qualifiers are: a consortium comprising Samart Corp, Loxley, Huawei Technologies and Nokia Siemens Networks; and the grouping of United Communication Industry, Advanced Information Technology and Alcatel-Lucent.
According to reports, two other consortia which submitted applications failed to meet TOT’s technical specifications for the online auction scheduled for 28 January. The telco hopes to sign a contract for the W-CDMA/HSPA expansion around 15-18 February.
Five Bidders for the Thai 3G auction scheduled for September 28-29
Five companies bought bid documents for the 3G license auction scheduled for September 28-29 when the National Telecommunications Commission opened the sale of documents on Tuesday
According to the reports, AIS, DTAC and True Corp the three main operators of Thailand have bought bid documents for the 3G auction. The other two applicants are Samart and Loxley who operates as in MVNOs.
All the three operators bought two bid documents each AIS for itself and its subordinate AWN, DTAC for itself and its unit DTAC Internet Service, and True for its two units True Move and SK Wireless, while only one operating company from each will be able to take part.
The government has set a reserve price for a 15-year license of $403.1 million. Operators can file their bid proposals by the end of this month.
AIS has dedicated US$ 1.578 million to developing 3G services over the next three years. According to MVNO Loxley, it was in talks with an Asian company to form a possible JV to bid for a licence. The establish investment of the JV would be around US$ 0.946 million.
According to Samart President Watchai Vilailuck., Samart is considering following Loxley’s track. The company is in talks with Malaysian giant Axiata and another Asian telco over forming a JV for the purpose. The venture would have initial funding of US$ 0.631 million and about 51% would be owned by Samart’s MVNO unit Samart I-Mobile. The company would wait until the results of a feasibility study to determine whether the project would be worth its hefty price tag.
Loxley partners MPG for wireless broadband service on TOT (Thailand)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In order to enhance the operation of its mobile virtual network, Loxley announced its partnership with UK-based Mobile Partners Group (MPG). MPG will provide 3G-2.1GHz wireless broadband service on TOT’s network in greater Bangkok.
Established in 2006, MPG’s purpose was to simplify mobile-service set-ups with selected partners. At present, it also enables brand names or companies that want to enter the mobile business as either an SP (service provider) or MVNO (mobile virtual network operator).
Loxley, 365 Communication, Samart I-Mobile (SIM), IEC and M Consultant were selected by TOT to provide 3G-service on an MVNO basis for its Bangkok network.
Loxley is investing Bt40 million on related systems and will run the service under i-KooL 3G brand. The company aims to lure about 30,000 customers as well as break even within 18 months.
According to executive vice president of Loxley, Suroj Lamsam, Loxley’s 3G services would enhance its close-circuit TV system management, existing IT solutions on fleet management, as well as electricity including water-meter management. All these services are offered to state and private enterprises.
North Korean telecom links could be cut by sanctions
An agreement by the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on North Korea could see the Asian nation’s few telecommunications links with the outside world cut. Digital World Tokyo reports.
“Sanctions under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter deal with “threats to the peace” and “acts of aggression” and provides for a range of sanctions including “complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.”
The country is already one of the most isolated in the world when it comes to communications and media and any sanctions would make it even more remote.
There are only a handful of international telephone circuits into North Korea and many telephones cannot be reached by direct dialling. Instead calls are routed through switchboards where foreign language skills are lacking, service is curt and calls are likely to be dropped at any moment. Only a few companies and government departments have phone or fax numbers that can be reached from overseas.
Inside the country reliable information on phone service is unavailable. According to the most recent data from the International Telecommunication Union there are about 1.1 million telephones lines in service in North Korea, or 46 telephone lines per 1000 inhabitants, one of the lowest rates of connection in the world.
A GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network was launched in Pyongyang in 2003 by Northeast Asia Telephone and Telecommunications (NEAT&T), a joint venture between Thailand’s Loxley Pacific and the state-run Korea Post and Telecommunications. The network was expanded to other cities during 2003, according to state media reports. Phones costs more than a thousand dollars, putting them well out of the reach of almost all in the country.
… There is no reliable information on Internet access in the country, but it’s likely that if it does exist it is limited to the very top levels of government.
… North Korea has a top-level domain, .kp, but no name server exists that allows it to be used on the Internet.
Experts say that the bottom line with North Korea’s limited communications systems is that they are strictly controlled and all communications is likely monitored by authorities, which are keen to quash any threat to the absolute power of Kim Jong Il.”
Source- http://www.textually.org
