Telecom committee turns down TOT’s plan for 4G partnership
TOT’S search for a strategic partner to launch fourth-generation cellular services on its 2.3-gigahertz band hit a snag on February 21 when the telecom committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission rejected its revised business plan. Pravit Leesatapornwongsa, a member of the NBTC, said the telecom panel was concerned that the state enterprise’s plan might violate Article 46 of the Frequency Allocation Law that requires licence holders to operate their frequencies completely on their own, instead of having other parties do it on their behalf. So far 13 companies have picked up the terms of reference to bid to become TOT’s partner. Among them are Advanced Wireless Network, a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service; DTAC TriNet, a subsidiary of Total Access Communication; and TrueMove H Universal Communication and Real Move, both part of the True Corp group.
