Government telecoms monopoly CAT and True set to duel over 3G
By Jon Fernquest
The
delays in getting a
functional 3G system up and running for Thailand never seem to
end (Read previous articles #1 and #2).True has a system working now in Bangkok but the gigantic government telecoms concession holder CAT (that survives for the most part off of concessions and work done by others) doesn't like it.
Today's story begins after the vocabulary below.
telecoms, telecommunications - communication
by telephone and radio
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)
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)
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)
getting it up and running - installing some system and doing the work needed to get it operational (functional)
functional - the system is working and operating normally and doing its job (example: city's electricity distribution network or a mobile phone network)
duel - fight between two people...traditionally with swords or guns at dawn (See Wikipedia)
concession - official permission from the government to do a special type of business สัมปทาน
concession holder - the company that owns the government permission to do a special type of business
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)
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)
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)
getting it up and running - installing some system and doing the work needed to get it operational (functional)
functional - the system is working and operating normally and doing its job (example: city's electricity distribution network or a mobile phone network)
duel - fight between two people...traditionally with swords or guns at dawn (See Wikipedia)
concession - official permission from the government to do a special type of business สัมปทาน
concession holder - the company that owns the government permission to do a special type of business
Telecommunications
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
True faces down CAT over 3G cancellation threat
9/06/2010
Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn
True Move, the country's third-largest mobile operator, has shrugged off threats by CAT Telecom to immediately halt its pilot of 3G services due to the alleged unapproved installation of 3G base stations.
The concession holder wants to negotiate with CAT to settle the dispute, but said it would take the matter to arbitration if resolution is impossible, said True Corp chief executive Suphachai Chearavanont .
faces down - prepares
to enter a fight with an opponent
cancellation - the formal ending of something (like a membership or subscription to a magazine, for example)
threat - saying that you might do something bad or harmful, especially in order to make someone do something การขู่เข็ญ การคุกคาม ทำให้กลัว
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
halt - to stop หยุด
pilot - a small test of a new idea or product or idea before introducing it everywhere
alleged - claimed, but not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา
base stations - the radio transmitter and receiver that connects mobile telephones in an area with a company's wireless network, most countries require several hundred base stations to give full coverage for mobile phone customers
negotiate - talk together in order to solve differences and reach an agreement
settle - to reach a decision or an agreement about something, or to end a disagreement แก้ปัญหา
dispute - a serious disagreement การโต้เถียง, ความขัดแย้ง
settle dispute - reach an agreement after a serious disagreement
matter - a situation or subject which is being dealt with or considered เรื่อง, ภารกิจ, งาน
arbitration - the judging and settling of a dispute or disagreement by a neutral party not involved in dispute
take the matter to arbitration -
resolution - solve a problem
executive - the highest level managers in a company
cancellation - the formal ending of something (like a membership or subscription to a magazine, for example)
threat - saying that you might do something bad or harmful, especially in order to make someone do something การขู่เข็ญ การคุกคาม ทำให้กลัว
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
halt - to stop หยุด
pilot - a small test of a new idea or product or idea before introducing it everywhere
alleged - claimed, but not yet proven ที่ถูกกล่าวหา
base stations - the radio transmitter and receiver that connects mobile telephones in an area with a company's wireless network, most countries require several hundred base stations to give full coverage for mobile phone customers
negotiate - talk together in order to solve differences and reach an agreement
settle - to reach a decision or an agreement about something, or to end a disagreement แก้ปัญหา
dispute - a serious disagreement การโต้เถียง, ความขัดแย้ง
settle dispute - reach an agreement after a serious disagreement
matter - a situation or subject which is being dealt with or considered เรื่อง, ภารกิจ, งาน
arbitration - the judging and settling of a dispute or disagreement by a neutral party not involved in dispute
take the matter to arbitration -
resolution - solve a problem
executive - the highest level managers in a company
CAT has told TrueMove to cease its 3G trial service on the state telecom enterprise's 850 Megahertz spectrum, saying the company had breached its concession agreement.
The state enterprise said the trial must be postponed as all equipment used for the venture must first be transferred to CAT under TrueMove's build-transfer-operate agreement.
cease
- to stop จบ, ยุติ
trial - a test, usually over a limited period of time, to discover how effective or suitable something or someone is การทดลอง, การทดสอบ, การลองผิดลองถูก การทดลอง
state - government รัฐ
telecom - telecommunications, dealing with telephones การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข
spectrum - a range of radio waves used for radio communications ความถี่คลื่นวิทยุที่ใช้ในการสื่อสาร
enterprise - an organization, especially a business กิจการ, บริษัท,อุตสาหกิจ,วิสาหกิจ
state enterprise - a company owned by the government
postponed - delayed; decided that something will be done at a later time เลื่อนออกไป
venture - a new activity, usually in business, which involves risk or uncertainty ธุริกิจเสี่ยงแต่สามารถทำกำไรได้
transfer - to move someone or something from one place to another ย้าย
build-transfer-operate - a form of public private partnership, the contractor (True) builds the phone system, transfers ownership to the goernment, but then operates the system for the government, so True cannot reuse the 2G facilities it built for the government because it does not currently own them (See previous article)
trial - a test, usually over a limited period of time, to discover how effective or suitable something or someone is การทดลอง, การทดสอบ, การลองผิดลองถูก การทดลอง
state - government รัฐ
telecom - telecommunications, dealing with telephones การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข
spectrum - a range of radio waves used for radio communications ความถี่คลื่นวิทยุที่ใช้ในการสื่อสาร
enterprise - an organization, especially a business กิจการ, บริษัท,อุตสาหกิจ,วิสาหกิจ
state enterprise - a company owned by the government
postponed - delayed; decided that something will be done at a later time เลื่อนออกไป
venture - a new activity, usually in business, which involves risk or uncertainty ธุริกิจเสี่ยงแต่สามารถทำกำไรได้
transfer - to move someone or something from one place to another ย้าย
build-transfer-operate - a form of public private partnership, the contractor (True) builds the phone system, transfers ownership to the goernment, but then operates the system for the government, so True cannot reuse the 2G facilities it built for the government because it does not currently own them (See previous article)
CAT warned TrueMove that it would take "further measures" if the operator continued with the trial or marketing its WiFi-plus-3G packages.
Under the concession agreement, CAT granted True Move permission to install 656 base stations - 543 in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, 22 in Chiang Mai, 42 in Chon Buri, 35 in Phuket and 35 in Maha Sarakham. But the state enterprise has accused TrueMove of starting the process to install another 750 base stations which have not currently been approved.
measures
- actions taken to deal with and solve a problem มาตราการ
take further measures - take even more actions to solve a problem
granted - officially given ให ้ (เงินกู้)
permission - allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
install - put a piece of equipment somewhere and make it ready to be used ติดตั้งอุปกรณ์
surrounding - all around a place บริเวณรอบๆ
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
take further measures - take even more actions to solve a problem
granted - officially given ให ้ (เงินกู้)
permission - allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
install - put a piece of equipment somewhere and make it ready to be used ติดตั้งอุปกรณ์
surrounding - all around a place บริเวณรอบๆ
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
Mr Suphachai said he believed the installation of the additional base stations was within the scope of the agreement.
I think the dispute is just a misunderstanding," he said. "The additional installation is simply an ongoing issue that need to be clarified.
scope - size,
coverage, breadth
scope of the agreement - how much the agreement includes, coverage of an agreement
misunderstanding - when a problem arises because someone does not fully understand something (like a law, an agreement, why a person is acting in a certain way (intentions))
ongoing - currently happening now, continuing อย่างต่อเนื่อง, ไม่หยุดยั้ง
issue - a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
need to be clarified - how something works need to be described simply and in detail (clearly)
scope of the agreement - how much the agreement includes, coverage of an agreement
misunderstanding - when a problem arises because someone does not fully understand something (like a law, an agreement, why a person is acting in a certain way (intentions))
ongoing - currently happening now, continuing อย่างต่อเนื่อง, ไม่หยุดยั้ง
issue - a problem that needs to be considered ประเด็น
need to be clarified - how something works need to be described simply and in detail (clearly)
Shutting down the additional base stations would not benefit consumers. "The more cell sites offered, the greater the benefits to customers," he said.
Mr Supachai also denied that the company was marketing the trial service as TrueMove 3G-plus-WiFi without referring to CAT, which the state agency described as indirect commercial marketing. The packages are a free service offering that was bundled as a part of its 3G service.
True Move is on the verge of starting its own investigation into whether it violated the agreement, he said.
benefit
- to help someone มีประโยชน์ต่อ
consumers - people who buy things (individuals and families)
cell site - see "base station" above
benefits - good things people get from the project ผลประโยชน์
denied - said it was not true
trial service - temporary service, testing to see if the service works and is successful
bundled - included with some other good that is sold
investigation - the process of trying to find out all the details or facts about something in order to discover who or what caused it or how it happened การตรวจสอบหาข้อเท็จจริง
consumers - people who buy things (individuals and families)
cell site - see "base station" above
benefits - good things people get from the project ผลประโยชน์
denied - said it was not true
trial service - temporary service, testing to see if the service works and is successful
bundled - included with some other good that is sold
investigation - the process of trying to find out all the details or facts about something in order to discover who or what caused it or how it happened การตรวจสอบหาข้อเท็จจริง
(Source: Bangkok Post, True faces down CAT over 3G cancellation threat, 9/06/2010, Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn, link)
