Telecom industry investment up

Telecom and Internet licensees invested a combined Bt46 billion in the sector from 2005-07, reports the national telecom regulator.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said telecom and Internet service providers (ISPs) invested Bt41.869 billion and Bt4.68 billion, respectively, over that period.

Commissioner Suchart Suchatvejapoom said the figures reflected the NTC's success in opening up the market, leading to greater investment.

The NTC, which was set up more than three years ago, has granted 66 telecom licences and 86 Internet-business licences.

However, most of the major licensees were existing local telecom operators like TOT and CAT Telecom or their subsidiaries, rather than foreign newcomers.

Telecom operators have been waiting for licences to operate on the WiMax and third-generation (3G) broadband cellular spectra, with which they will be able to offer new services with very fast data-transmission rates.

Its recently revealed second master plan shows the NTC intends to issue WiMax- and 3G-spectrum licences by next year. Once received, each cellular service operator is expected to have to spend about US$2 billion (Bt63.9 billion) on rolling out the 3G network nationwide.

The NTC has cut the major licence fee from 3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of a licence holder's annual revenue, in order to help licensees reduce costs and encourage new players to enter the market. The regulator has also opened up the market for an international Internet-gateway service, which obtains international bandwidth for local ISPs, boosting competition.

Market liberalisation has prompted dominant players like CAT and TOT to reduce the gateway service fee from Bt 23,226 for 1 megabit per second to Bt 17,300.

In 2006, the NTC recorded revenue of Bt3.332 billion, with Bt1.596 billion coming from licence fees, Bt946 million from number fees and Bt78.645 million from spectrum fees. It reported expenditures of Bt1.066 billion, including Bt281.783 million for staff-related costs, more than Bt218 million for administrative costs and about Bt500 million for funding development of the telecommunications industry.

The Nation, 04.02.2008

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