Thailand's neverending
telecoms logjam
continues
ICT minister vows to put
3G auctions on
hold indefinitely
By Jon Fernquest 
ICT
minister Ranongruk Suwunchwee is most famous for turning the ICT Ministry into Thailand's
internet censor.She has also gained a reputation as someone who hasn't done anything during her tenure to promote new technologies in Thailand such as 3G (Read article).
Some feel that TOT and CAT, the gigantic state-owned telecommunications behemoths, no longer serve any useful function (Read article) but where would all of TOT and CAT's employees go if they went bankrupt?
This might actually happen because the two organisations are completely dependent on mobile phone concession fees for their continued existence (Read article).
For almost a decade Thailand's telecommunications industry has failed to appoint an effective regulator because of competing vested interests (Read article).
Will Thailand's telecoms industry every escape from this debilitating pattern?
Article begins after vocabulary:
logjam - a
difficult situation that prevents progress and achievement of
goals (like logs blocking a river)
break a logjam - remove the blockage (so progress can be made)
put on hold - stop temporarily
ICT (Information and Communications Technology) - a term for both information technology (IT) and telecom technology (See Wikipedia)
censor - person or organisation who examines media and removes parts it doesn't want the public to hear
reputation - being famouns, remembered or known by the public for something (for example, a reputation among his friends for working quickly)
gained a reputation - when reputation increases, person becomes more famous for something
tenure - the period of time that a government official works for the government
behemoths - very large and unpleasant things (therefore difficult to deal with or inefficient)
concession fees - money paid to the government for special permission to do a restricted business
vested interests - those who will gain or lose depending on the decision that is made (therefore they try to influence decision)
telecoms, telecommunications - technology of sending messages over long distances by radio, telephone, television, satellite
debilitating - hurting or damaging
break a logjam - remove the blockage (so progress can be made)
put on hold - stop temporarily
ICT (Information and Communications Technology) - a term for both information technology (IT) and telecom technology (See Wikipedia)
censor - person or organisation who examines media and removes parts it doesn't want the public to hear
reputation - being famouns, remembered or known by the public for something (for example, a reputation among his friends for working quickly)
gained a reputation - when reputation increases, person becomes more famous for something
tenure - the period of time that a government official works for the government
behemoths - very large and unpleasant things (therefore difficult to deal with or inefficient)
concession fees - money paid to the government for special permission to do a restricted business
vested interests - those who will gain or lose depending on the decision that is made (therefore they try to influence decision)
telecoms, telecommunications - technology of sending messages over long distances by radio, telephone, television, satellite
debilitating - hurting or damaging
Minister puts brakes on 3G
Foreigners favoured, TOT and CAT suffer5/10/2009
KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA
The long-delayed auction of third-generation (3G) mobile broadband licences scheduled for mid-December could be put on hold indefinitely if Ranongruk Suwunchwee has her way.
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) minister wants the auction put off as long as possible, reasoning that the conditions deter state telecom enterprises and favour foreign players.
3G
- third generation mobile phone, the next level of
mobile phone services beyond the current second generation (2G),
supports broadband internet, supports greater numbers of voice and data
customers especially in urban areas (See Wikipedia on 3G)
TOT - a Thai
state-owned telecommunications company. Originally established in 1954
and corporatized in 2002, TOT's main line of business is fixed line
telephony, although it has several other businesses, including mobile
telephony. (See Wikipedia)
CAT, CAT Telecom - the Thai state-owned telecommunications company that owns Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure including its international gateways, satellite and submarine cable networks connections. Until recently, CAT had a monopoly on international telephony and CDMA mobile telephony. CAT partners with sister state-enterprise TOT to provide a GSM mobile service and with Hutchison to provide a CDMA mobile service. Corporatized in July 2003, CAT Telecom used to be known as the Communications Authority of Thailand (See Wikipedia)
broadband - high-speed data transmission used for high-speed Internet access, fast enough to support applications such as streaming video
3G mobile broadband - broadband over a mobile phone (allows you to connect to the internet with mobile phone)
tethering - using your mobile to connect your computer to the internet (mobile phone has 3G or GPRS and sends to computer with Bluetooth)
third-generation (3G) mobile broadband licences - permission from the government to offer 3G services over mobile phones
puts brake on - stop or slow down a lot
auction - selling things by competitive bids, selling to the person who offers that best price (See Wikipedia)
put on hold - stop temporarily
put on hold indefinitely - stop temporarily (and not say when will start again)
X reasoning that Y - does X for the reason that Y
deter - prevent, make people stop doing some activity or behaviour
state telecom enterprises - telecom companies owned by the government
conditions deter state telecom enterprises - the situation prevents state-owned telecom companies from doing somegthing
foreign players - foreign companies doing business in the industry
CAT, CAT Telecom - the Thai state-owned telecommunications company that owns Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure including its international gateways, satellite and submarine cable networks connections. Until recently, CAT had a monopoly on international telephony and CDMA mobile telephony. CAT partners with sister state-enterprise TOT to provide a GSM mobile service and with Hutchison to provide a CDMA mobile service. Corporatized in July 2003, CAT Telecom used to be known as the Communications Authority of Thailand (See Wikipedia)
broadband - high-speed data transmission used for high-speed Internet access, fast enough to support applications such as streaming video
3G mobile broadband - broadband over a mobile phone (allows you to connect to the internet with mobile phone)
tethering - using your mobile to connect your computer to the internet (mobile phone has 3G or GPRS and sends to computer with Bluetooth)
third-generation (3G) mobile broadband licences - permission from the government to offer 3G services over mobile phones
puts brake on - stop or slow down a lot
auction - selling things by competitive bids, selling to the person who offers that best price (See Wikipedia)
put on hold - stop temporarily
put on hold indefinitely - stop temporarily (and not say when will start again)
X reasoning that Y - does X for the reason that Y
deter - prevent, make people stop doing some activity or behaviour
state telecom enterprises - telecom companies owned by the government
conditions deter state telecom enterprises - the situation prevents state-owned telecom companies from doing somegthing
foreign players - foreign companies doing business in the industry
"These conditions discourage TOT and CAT Telecom but pave the way for foreign players to freely bid and grab our national resources," Mrs Ranongruk said after meeting executives of both state telecoms over the weekend.
She said the 3G draft terms from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) state that a qualified bidder must be a Thai entity or have foreign partners holding not more than 49% under the Telecom Business Law. Bidders must possess spectrum in the range from 1.9 to 2.1 Gigahertz.
pave the way for X
to do Y - make
it easy for X to do Y
resources - things needed for proper functioning, to get a job done
national resources - things that a country needs to take care of itself (and perhaps grow economically)
terms (of a law or agreement) - the detailed conditions of a law or agreement
draft terms - in the non-final version of a law or agreement
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) - the first independent state telecommunications regulator in Thailand, regulates all telecommunications services, formulates a master plan, sets criteria and categories of telecommunications services, permits and regulates the use of spectrum for telecommunications services and grants licenses to telecommunications operators (See websitepolicy)
an entity, a unit - a business ororganisation that exists separately from a larger one
a Thai entity - Thai business or organisation
form new entities - form new organisations or companies
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
resources - things needed for proper functioning, to get a job done
national resources - things that a country needs to take care of itself (and perhaps grow economically)
terms (of a law or agreement) - the detailed conditions of a law or agreement
draft terms - in the non-final version of a law or agreement
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) - the first independent state telecommunications regulator in Thailand, regulates all telecommunications services, formulates a master plan, sets criteria and categories of telecommunications services, permits and regulates the use of spectrum for telecommunications services and grants licenses to telecommunications operators (See websitepolicy)
an entity, a unit - a business ororganisation that exists separately from a larger one
a Thai entity - Thai business or organisation
form new entities - form new organisations or companies
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
The minister said that the TOT subsidiary Thai Mobile owned the 1.9 GHz spectrum and planned to launch the first phase of its 3G services in December with 500 base stations. TOT is also planning to invest 20 billion baht for a nationwide network.
CAT Telecom, she said, was disqualified under the current 3G auction rules because it has the Finance Ministry as a major shareholder, the same as TOT.
disqualified - stopped from
joining an activity (because they did something wrong)
TOT, CAT rely on concession revenues for very existence
Mrs Ranongruk said she would outline her views today to the NTC, which plans an event to celebrate its fifth anniversary, at which Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is to be a guest speaker.She warned both TOT and CAT Telecom could go bankrupt if 3G licences are awarded under the current conditions.
Telecom analysts say private operators could form new entities to bid for 3G licences, and then shift their existing customers to the new 3G services. This would allow them to reduce the revenue-sharing payments that are the financial lifeblood of the concession owners, TOT and CAT.
TOT chairman Teerawut Boonyasophon said that since TOT and CAT contributed large sums of their concession revenue to government coffers, the NTC should not think only of the money it could make from foreign bidders alone.
outline her views -
presents a summary of what she thinks about the issue
go bankrupt - without enough money to pay debts, so stop doing business
revenue-sharing - when two companies or organisations agree to share the revenue from a business or activity
revenue-sharing payments - the money paid to a partner in a revenue sharing agreement
financial lifeblood - the thing that keeps an organisation or business alive and functioning
go bankrupt - without enough money to pay debts, so stop doing business
revenue-sharing - when two companies or organisations agree to share the revenue from a business or activity
revenue-sharing payments - the money paid to a partner in a revenue sharing agreement
financial lifeblood - the thing that keeps an organisation or business alive and functioning
Criticism of ICT Minister
But NTC chairman Gen Choochart Promprasit insisted the regulator could not put off the auction because it was its duty under the Telecom Business Law.He also said that the Council of State had offered a legal interpretation that the NTC could allocate frequency since the National Broadcasting Commission, which is supposed to have that duty, has never been formed.
However, if the cabinet asked the NTC to put off the auction, its board would have to consider the matter seriously, he acknowledged.
Advanced Info Service chief executive Wichien Mektrakarn said that what Mrs Ranongruk was doing was inappropriate and was interfering with the industry's growth.
insisted - said
very firmly that something should be done (didn't give in or
stop)
put off the auction - delay or reschedule the auction (for a later date)
Council of State - the group of legal advisors that provides advice to the Prime Minister's cabinet on the legality of actions they are planning to take
allocate - divide up something and giving it to people
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
allocate frequency - divide radio frequencies up, give them to different businesses (after auction)
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
appropriate - what is acceptable or suitable in a situation
inappropriate - not appropriate, not acceptable
put off the auction - delay or reschedule the auction (for a later date)
Council of State - the group of legal advisors that provides advice to the Prime Minister's cabinet on the legality of actions they are planning to take
allocate - divide up something and giving it to people
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
allocate frequency - divide radio frequencies up, give them to different businesses (after auction)
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
appropriate - what is acceptable or suitable in a situation
inappropriate - not appropriate, not acceptable
interfering - get involved with
something that doesn't concern you (none of your business) and have a
damaging effect
Everyone against everyone
He said TOT had 3G spectrum long before any other operator but had failed to add value to the resource, and that CAT Telecom also had a CDMA service that could be developed into 3G. "It would be very ugly if the ICT minister does as she plans," he said."As private operators, we might have to team up against it."
True Corp, however, also opposes the current 3G auction terms because it says they favour its two rivals, AIS and DTAC, which have foreign partners while True is Thai-owned.
value added - the
additional value added to a product at each stage of producing
the product
add value to the resource - adding features or increasing value of product at a stage of production
CDMA service -
team up against - joining together to oppose or fight against something or someone
favour X over Y - do something for X but not for Y
add value to the resource - adding features or increasing value of product at a stage of production
CDMA service -
team up against - joining together to oppose or fight against something or someone
favour X over Y - do something for X but not for Y
rivals - competing
for or trying to get the same thing
(Source: Minister puts brakes on 3G, Foreigners favoured, TOT and CAT suffer, 5/10/2009, KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA, link)
