Telecommunications in Thailand: Difference between revisions
Editorial that said that the NBTC, "which has failed at most of its assigned work, has recently tried to expand its powers by intimidation and prying into areas where it does not belong" |
|||
| Line 136: | Line 136: | ||
* 10 type-two licenses with own network |
* 10 type-two licenses with own network |
||
* 25 type-three licenses |
* 25 type-three licenses |
||
A 18 September 2013 [[Bangkok Post]] editorial said that the NBTC, "which has failed at most of its assigned work, has recently tried to expand its powers by intimidation and prying into areas where it does not belong".<ref name=Rein>[http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/370224/rein-in-the-nbtc-bullies Rein in the NBTC bullies]</ref> |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
Revision as of 10:41, 18 September 2013
 | This article needs to be updated. (November 2010) |
Telecommunications in Thailand are based on an extensive network of telephone lines covering the country. TOT Public Company Limited and True Corporation operate the majority of the telephone network in the Bangkok metropolitan area while TOT Public Company Limited and TT&T Public Company Limited operate the telephone network in other provinces. After the 2006 Thailand coup d'état in September 2006, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont announced plans to merge TOT with CAT Telecom in order to operate a 'Telecom Pool' where providers rent the ability to be able to operate rather than receiving a concession with hopes that the new system will create a more competitive environment driving growth in the sector. After the General Election in 2008, successive government abandoned the telecom pool projects and continued liberalization process which had been undergone since 2000.
During recent years, mobile cellular telephone ownership has grown at a much faster rate than landline ownership. This was partly driven by the mobile communications price wars in 2004-2005 which pushed prices down to as low as 0.25 Baht/minute.[1] There are approximately five times as many mobile cellular telephones than landlines in use. On current data, slightly over half of the Thai population owns a mobile cellular telephone, with more numbers allocated than number of population.
There are several newspapers in mass circulation in Thailand with Thai Rath being the most popular. Of the several newspapers in mass circulation, three are English. Printed media in Thailand is subject to much less government control in contrast to the television where all free-to-air channels except one are government owned and run. This may change in the future as the new 2007 Constitution of Thailand will have a section guaranteeing free-to-air channels independent of the government.
Telephony
- Fixed Line Subscribers: 6,2 million (2Q 2013)
- Fixed Line Operators: TOT, True Corporation and TT&T
- Mobile Subscribers: 89,984,861 (2Q 2013)
- Mobile Market Concentration: 3,185 HHI Herfindahl-Hirschman Index[2]
Mobile Network Operators and Mobile Virtual Network Operators
As of June 2013[update], the penetration rate in Thailand was 131.84% over a population estimate of around 67.373 million.[3]
| Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) |
Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AIS / AIS 3G | GSM 900(GPRS, EDGE+) Concessions expire in 16-sep-2015 GSM 1800 Concessions expire in 16-sep-2013 ------------------------- 2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ |
37.7[4] (Q1 2013) | INTOUCH Company (42.60%) Singapore Telecommunications (21.31%) |
| 2 | DTAC / DTAC Trinet | GSM 1800 (GPRS, EDGE+) 850 MHz UMTS HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ Concessions expire in 16-sep-2018 ------------------------- 2100 MHz UMTS HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ |
27.2[5] (Q1 2013) | Telenor (38.64%) Thai Telco Holdings (25.59%) |
| 3 | Truemove / Truemove-H | GSM 1800 (GPRS, EDGE) Concessions expire in 16-sep-2013 ------------------------- 2100 MHz UMTS HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, LTE 850 MHz UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ MVNO (using MY) |
Truemove 18.2[6] Truemove-H 3.9 (Q2 2013) |
True Corporation |
| 4 | WEPCT | 1900 MHz PHS | Not Yet Available | True Corporation |
| 5 | TOT3G | 2100 MHz UMTS HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, LTE | 0.18[7] (Q3 2010) including MVNOs |
Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) |
| 6 | MY | 850 MHz UMTS HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ | Not Yet Available | CAT Telecom |
| Mobile Virtual Network Operators | ||||
| 1 | TRUE MOVE H | MVNO (using MY Cat Telecom) | 3.9 (Q3 2012)[6] | True Corporation |
| 2 | i-mobile Plus | MVNO (using TOT3G) | 0.12[7] (Q4 2010) | Samart Corporation |
| 3 | 365 3G | MVNO (using TOT3G) | 10,000 (thousands) (Q1 2013)[8] | 365 Communications |
| 4 | IEC3G | MVNO (using TOT3G) | 7,500 (thousands) As of September 2013[update][9] | International Engineering Public Company Limited |
| 5 | mojo3G | MVNO (using TOT3G) | Not Yet Available | Mojo Mobile Co., Ltd. |
| 6 | i-kool Real 3G | MVNO (using TOT3G) | Not Yet Available | 51% Loxley PCL – 49% Tune Talk Holding |
Major Voice over IP (VoIP) Operators:
- CAT2Call (CAT Telecom)
- TrueNetTalk (True Corporation)
- Mouthmun (Jasmine Internet)
- DeeCall (SawasdeeSHOP)
In September 2010, NTC arranged 3.9G licenses auction (IMT 2100). But CAT Telecom sued the NTC in the Administrative Court, claimed that NTC does not have authority to hold the auction. Following a petition filed by the government's wholly owned companies, the High Administrative Court issued an injunction order on September 23, 2010, to stop 3G auction resulting in near guarantee of domination of the incumbent to exploit 2G services. Only government owned operators (i.e. TOT and CAT) are allowed to roll out 3G.
The suspension order issued by the Administrative Court paved way for incumbents to undertake rent extracting activities rather than direct investment. In 2011, CAT sold its right to offer 3G to its concessionaire which is True Move in a complex M&A deal. The True-Hutch-CAT arrangement is under investigation by different agencies; while TOT sublicensed its 3G network to Samart Corporation subject to the Administrative Court deliberation of the legality of the contract. Liberalization and privatization are, in effect, put on hold.
In May 2013, AIS, True Move and DTAC launch 3G on the 2.1 GHz. True Move also launch LTE in Bangkok and promised to available in 15 provinces later in 2013.
Telephone system
High quality, especially in urban areas such as Bangkok; liberalization, as required by World Trade Organization commitment, is complete by 2006
- Domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic satellite including new iPSTAR satellite, so far the heaviest comms satellite in orbit.
- International: Satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)
Radio
There are 13.96 million radios in use (1997).
Television
There are a total of six free-to-air television channels in Thailand, which are: CH3 (BEC World), CH5, CH7 (BBTV), MODERNineTV, NBT (replaced TVT) and Thai PBS (replaced ITV and TITV).
There are 35.5 million televisions in use (2005).
Internet
Submarine cables
There are five submarine cables used for communications landing in Thailand. Thailand has cable landing points in Satun, Petchaburi and Chonburi.
- SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-4 linking South East Asia to the Middle East and Western Europe. SEA-ME-WE 4 was operational since 2006.
- Thailand-Indonesia-Singapore (TIS) operational since December 2003.
- APCN linking Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The cable is operational since 1996.
- Thailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong (T-V-H) operational since February 1996.
- Flag Europe-Asia (FEA) operational since mid-1990s.
The Asia-America Gateway (AAG) is under construction and is expected to be operational in Q2 2009.
The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), a new submarine cable, is under planning stage and is expected to be operational in Q3 2011.
Satellite
Thaicom is the name of a series of communications satellites operated out of Thailand. Thaicom Public Company Limited is the company that owns and operations the THAICOM satellite fleet and operates other telecommunication businesses in Thailand and throughout Asia-Pacific.
Thailand-based Shinawatra Computer and Communications Co. Ltd. (now Shin Corporation) signed a US$ 100 million contract with Hughes Space and Communications Company Ltd. in 1991 to launch Thailand's first satellite communications project. The first Thaicom satellite was launched on December 17, 1993. This satellite carried 12 C-band transponders coveting a region from Japan to Singapore. Thaksin Shinawatra sold Shin Corporation, which owns 41% of Thaicom Public Company Limited.
Launch Dates
- Thaicom 1 : December 17, 1993
- Thaicom 2 : October 1994
- Thaicom 3 : April 16, 1997; deorbited on October 2, 2006[10]
- Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR-1): August 11, 2005
- Thaicom 5: May 27, 2006
Telecommunications Regulatory Environment in Thailand
National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)[6]
The NRA Organization Act of 2010 established the new National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in December 2010 as a single converged regulator for the telecoms and broadcasting sectors in Thailand.[6]
The Telecommunications Business Act of 2001[11] laid down the rules for Thailand’s telecommunications industry by requiring telecoms operators to obtain a license from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The Act classifies telecommunication licenses into three categories.
- Type-one telecom license is for an operator without its own network.
- Type-two telecom license is for an operator with or without its own network but provides services targeting a segment or even several segments of the public.
- Type-three telecom license is for an operator with a network that provides services to the general public.
The 2001 Act was amended in 2006 under the supervision of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to allow foreigners to own a larger holding in a Thai telecommunications business.
In 2001, foreigners were not permitted to apply for type-two or type-three licenses under Thailand’s Foreign Business Act (FBA).[12]
The applicant applying for type two and type three licenses must be organizations where Thai nationals hold at least 75% shares and at least three quarters of the applicant’s firm directors and the person authorized to sign any binding commitments as a representation of the applicant firm must be Thai nationals.
The 2006 amendments repealed all the additional requirements of an applicant of type-two and type-three licenses, stating foreigners can now hold up to 49% in a telecommunications operator of type-two or type-three; no restrictions on the number of their foreign directors’ representation; and the authorized person signing binding commitments as a representation of the applicant firm can be a foreigner.
The telecoms license fee is composed of three types of fees - permission for license, renewal and an annual fee.
As of June 2013 the NBTC has granted 186 telecoms licensees, listed as follows:[13]
- 144 type-one licensees
- 7 type-two licenses without own network
- 10 type-two licenses with own network
- 25 type-three licenses
A 18 September 2013 Bangkok Post editorial said that the NBTC, "which has failed at most of its assigned work, has recently tried to expand its powers by intimidation and prying into areas where it does not belong".[14]
See also
References
- ^ International Herald Tribune, 15 June 2005
- ^ Herfindahl-Hirschman index
- ^ "2Q 2013 Thailand Mobile Market Information". Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "AIS Subscribers 1Q13" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ "Total Access Communication" (PDF). dtac.listedcompany.com.
- ^ a b c d "Yozzo Telecom News". MVNO TrueMove H added 678,000 subscribers during Q213. Yozzo.com. Retrieved 2013-09-04. Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b http://www.samartcorp.com/upload_files/ANNUAL_REPORTS/Annaul%20samart%20TH%202010.pdf
- ^ "Thailand's MVNO market". Yozzo.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05
- ^ "IEC looking to sell its MVNO IEC3G". Yozzo.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05
- ^ Thaicom 3
- ^ "Telecommunications Business Act, B.E. 2544 (2001)" www.mict.go.th
- ^ "Foreign Business Act of 1999". Thailand Board of Investment (BOI)
- ^ "Thailand's MVNO market" Yozzo.com
- ^ Rein in the NBTC bullies
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
