TOT seeks guidance as battle over phone revenues heats up

TOT seeks guidance as battle over phone revenues heats up.

TOT has decided to proceed with its plan to consult the Council of State over its need to comply with the new interconnection-charge regulations of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

It says it wants it made clear whether it must comply with the interconnection charge, the old access charge or both.

TOT has tried to maintain the access charge, which is levied on all private cellular operators holding concessions from CAT Telecom, as a payment for connecting with different networks via TOT's facilities. TOT has collected about Bt14 billion per year from the access charge.

However, CAT's cellular concessionaires want to pay only the interconnection charge, which was fixed recently under NTC regulations providing that all telecom firms should share voice revenues between the two networks involved in a call.

Total Access Communication (DTAC) said it intended to pay the interconnection charge to TOT, due this past Wednesday, instead of the old access charge. As a consequence, it will pay a rate of Bt1.25 per minute instead of the access-charge rate of Bt8 per minute.

TOT spokesman Thomrat Hatayodom said TOT would demand compensation from CAT Telecom if CAT's cellular concessionaires declined to pay the access charge.

Moreover, he said TOT would continue refusing to integrate into its network an additional 1.5 million mobile-phone numbers each from DTAC and True Move if they continued to refuse to pay the old access charge.

A telecom company needs all other operators to integrate its new numbers into their switching systems, so that the numbers can be recognised by the other networks. TOT's refusal to register new numbers from DTAC and True Move means calls from other networks will not reach the new numbers if the calls are relayed through TOT's network.

DTAC, which will start marketing its additional 1.5 million phone numbers next Monday, has threatened legal action against TOT.

Thomrat countered that if subscribers to such numbers experienced problems in using the numbers, they should file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board against their cellular operators.

Meanwhile, the Information and Communications Technology Ministry yesterday sent a letter to DTAC and True Move asking them to delay their plan to market their additional mobile-phone numbers, pending the end of the dispute.

True Move CEO Supachai Chearavanont said the company had already started selling the additional phone numbers and that TOT had no right to refuse to accept them.

DTAC CEO Sigve Brekke said his company would go ahead with selling the additional phone numbers as planned despite the ministry's request.

TOT met with the NTC yesterday to explain why it declined to integrate DTAC and True Move's additional phone numbers into its system after the NTC ordered the company to accept them by next Thursday or face a fine or revocation of its licence.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation
Friday January 12, 2007