Thai state-owned communications provider TOT has seen interest from potential partners for a long-term MVNO deal on TOT’s 3G network wane following the issue of three 2.1 GHz 3G licences.
Third-ranked mobile operator True Move is urging the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to open a licensing auction for its 2G concession once it expires next year.
CAT Telecom yesterday maintained that the combined 18 million cellular subscribers of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co (DPC) “legally belong” to the state agency, and that it needs to keep possession of the companies’ 1,800MHz spectrum bands after the concessions end in September 2013 in order to continue providing a service to these customers
Loxley Plc is forming an alliance with Tune Talk, Malaysia’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) controlled by AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes, to serve TOT Plc’s third-generation (3G) wireless broadband service nationwide.
Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) I-Mobile Plus, a subsidiary of Samart Corporation, has been awarded a five-year contract by state telco TOT for exclusive rights to 40% of 3G network capacity to be resold to end-users under TOT’s new business model.
CAT Telecom has revealed plans to strike deals with additional mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to operate 3G services using its 850MHz frequencies, once the state telecom enterprise has completed necessary amendments to its existing 3G network contracts with True Corp, which have been found to violate telecoms legislation.
A sub-committee of Thailand’s National Broadcasting & Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has reached a conclusion that the 3G marketing partnership between state-owned CAT Telecom and private sector operator True Corp violates the country’s Frequency Allocation Act.
Thailand’s ICT minister Anudith Nakornthap has warned True Corp that if it chooses to continue investing in its 3G mobile partnership with CAT Telecom, it must do so at its own risk.
TOT3G Co, a subsidiary of the state-owned TOT Corporation, is under heavy scrutiny for failing to reach targets for financial performance and subscribers.
TrueMove is concerned that if the planned licensing of the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum promotes the emergence of small players in the third-generation cellular market, they might be taken over by the bigger players as a way of acquiring additional bandwidth capacity.
TOT Plc may seek strategic partners to manage and operate its telecom services.
True Move H nominally operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), effectively allowed True to begin operating 3G services outside of its state revenue-sharing build-transfer-operate (BTO) concession, unlike rivals AIS and DTAC which offer 3G services over their BTO networks while waiting for full 3G licences later this year.
There was a sense of celebration that there is an event which showcases the role of MVNOs in a new market such as Malaysia – do you agree and do you think that this is an important step for the ‘start up’ successes of MVNOs in the APAC region?
A senate committee has decided that the network resale deal struck by CAT Telecom and True Corp in January 2011, which spawned the True Move H’ 3G mobile service, is ‘illegal’.