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Mobile companies cite stakeholders
Concession changes will need approval

KOMSAN TORTERMVASANA and SRISAMORN PHOOSUPHANUSORN

Private mobile-phone operators insist that any renegotiation of their existing concessions would have to be approved by their shareholders and creditors. Any talks should also not be made under an assumption that the private operators were operating illegally, executives said, adding that ultimately, the issue might have to be settled in the courts.


On Friday, the Council of State ruled that changes to local telecom concessions between private operators and state-owned TOT Corp and CAT Telecom had failed to meet requirements under the 1992 joint public-private investment law.


The ruling leaves open the possibility that the amendments, which included changes in revenue-sharing terms and concession lifespans, could be made void by the cabinet.


Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the Information and Communications Technology minister, has called on the operators to enter into talks about restructuring their contracts to create a ''level playing field'' under a single, unified framework.


''We will not revoke any concessions, even though the Council of State ruling says we have the authority to do so,'' he said.


Dr Sitthichai said that any contract changes must also not result in any lost benefits for the state, including in terms of contract lifespans and revenue-sharing requirements.


''We also want fairness for the private sector as well, where they can continue invest. Consumers also must not be affected by the process, and we must not see calling charges increase,'' he said.


Dr Sitthichai said he expected the negotiations between the two state enterprises and private operators to take around 90 days, after which the cabinet would review the proposals.


''We expect the entire process to be completed within 180 days,'' he said.


''It's my dream that all concession contracts be made the same. In reality of course, that might not be the case. But at least, each player will pay 30% in revenue sharing.''


The minister insisted that a win-win scenario could be found for the public, the state and private operators.


''The incentive we are offering is to make everything comply with the law. No one will be able to request money [under the table] from the operators again.''


But industry executives, speaking at a seminar yesterday organised by the Economic Reporters' Association, expressed uncertainty about the legal authority of the state to compel changes in the existing contracts.


Wichien Mektrakarn, the president of market leader Advanced Info Service, agreed that past wrongs should be corrected, and that his company, a unit of Shin Corp, was awaiting details of the government's proposals.


But any contract changes requiring additional payments would have to be approved by AIS shareholders, Mr Wichien said, adding that the process could ultimately end up in court.


''Our contract, even if we say now did not comply with the rules, is still a contract that we have used for more than 10 years. Our creditors and our shareholders must also have a say,'' he said.


Mr Wichien said that the legal and policy uncertainties that had surrounded the telecom sector over the past year could severely affect investor sentiment.


The government's actions were akin to ''burning an entire field to kill one mouse'', he said, referring to moves to investigate the use of nominee shareholdings in local telecom companies following last year's takeover of Shin Corp by Singapore's Temasek Holdings.


Supachai Chearavanont, the chief executive of third-ranked mobile operator True Move, agreed that any concession changes must be accepted by companies' creditors and shareholders.


''We should not see any payments [to state agencies] increase from what they are now, as we already pay quite a lot,'' he said.


Mr Supachai said he would propose that authorities move forward with converting existing concession contracts altogether to truly create a competitive landscape, where concessions are scrapped in favour of new licensing agreements.


''Each government tackles the problems only superficially. If we change the law, but fail to address the concession issue, then it could only create more legal problems,'' he said.


At second-ranked DTAC, chief executive Sigve Brekke said the Thai operators already faced the highest revenue-sharing burden in the world.


Any move to increase the payments would inevitably be passed on to customers, he said.


DTAC and True Move, which operate under CAT Telecom concessions, pay the state enterprise 25% of their revenue, a sum that will increase to 30% from 2011. AIS, which operates under a TOT contract, pays 20% for its prepaid service.


Mr Brekke suggested that AIS's prepaid rates be increased to 25% now and 30% in 2011 to bring them to comparable levels.


At the same time, concession lifespans can be made uniform. DTAC's contract is due to expire in 2018, True Move's in 2011 and AIS's in 2015.


Meanwhile, TOT plans to file suits against DTAC and True Move with the Administrative Court this week for their refusal to pay a 200-baht access charge per subscriber since last November.


Chit Laowatana, a TOT director, said the outstanding debt owed by the operators now exceeded six billion baht.


The two operators insist that they are within their rights under the interconnection regime set by the National Telecommunications Commission. The framework set by the independent regulator outlines compensation payments for each operator for traffic crossing their networks.


Mr Chit said the Council of State had ruled that the access-charge dispute was unrelated to the concession issue, opening the door for TOT to take legal action.


But Mr Brekke insisted that DTAC would pay no access charges until the court issued a ruling.


He added DTAC and True Move had begun collecting interconnection charges since Feb 1, but that AIS had yet to submit billing invoices.


''We are waiting for a response from AIS. It needs to comply with the [interconnection] agreement already signed with us,'' Mr Brekke said.

Lite av problematiken här rör att det är 2 utländska ägargrupper inblandade. Och det är dessa 2 ägargrupper som dessutom försökt att få till stånd att regeringen ska ta ett beslut om 3G- nätet här i Thailand. Den frågan ligger på regeringens bord sedan 2 år tillbaks och man verkar inte speciellt intresserade utav att få till ett avgörande. Senast vi hörde något om det var i mitten av december förra året. Då sas det att eventuellt skulle bli en anbudsgivning inom 3 år. Det som nu sker att man ifrågasätter befintliga telekomavtal kan ha att göra med den frågan. När DTAC blev uppköpta av Telenor så gnyddes det rätt så högt här i landet, strax innan hade avslöjandet om Shin Corp,s försäljning blivit offentliga. Man har åsikten att telenäten är en nationell angelägenhet och vill skydda dom efter bästa förmåga.

Mvh taxi i ett mörkt och tyst Ban Phe

:  ))))