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To: waitwatchwander who wrote (26806)	9/26/2002 7:33:24 PM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 196740

Ucom's CDMA bid in jeopardy bangkokpost.net Komsan Tortermvasana Trade suppliers in the consortium led by United Communication Industry (Ucom) that is bidding for the 15-billion-baht CDMA mobile phone expansion project are entangled in a rift that could lead to the group's disqualification, according to an industry source. Two groups, led by a Ucom subsidiary and Lucent Technologies, have been selected in the first round of bidding for the Communications Authority of Thailand's CDMA project in the provinces. Ucom subsidiary Real Time Co has teamed up with suppliers Motorola, Nortel and Samsung, while Lucent joined with EPC Solutions. The source said the rift emerged when Motorola informed Real Time that if it had to import switching equipment for testing, Nortel should absorb the import costs if the test did not pass the CAT's pre-qualification requirements, because the equipment was made by Nortel. Nortel executives rejected the proposal. The CAT requires that each supplier import equipment worth US$2 million for tests and absorb the costs if it fails. The source said Real Time was now seeking CAT permission for only Nortel and Samsung to import their equipment. A Nortel executive said that even if Motorola imported Nortel equipment today, it might not be able to install it in time since import procedures took two weeks, installation another week and site preparation seven to 10 days. ``This means that it is very close to the October test deadline,'' he said. Prajin Kaecharanant, a CAT senior executive vice-president, said that if Motorola failed to import equipment, and Real Time sought to test only the equipment of the two other suppliers, the CAT might consider whether to disqualify the consortium from the bid. However, if the Ucom group was disqualified, only the Lucent consortium would remain in the bid, which would not look good, he said. Both Real Time and Lucent propose to use CAT premises for the tests. Mr Prajin also said that Motorola had earlier sought to use the equipment it had installed for the Bangkok CDMA project operated by Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia. Its request was rejected on grounds that it would be unfair to other suppliers in terms of costs.

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (26806)	10/8/2002 10:32:40 AM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 196740

MOBILE OPERATOR: CAT told to keep eye on new player nationmultimedia.com Published on Oct 9, 2002 New Information and Communications Technology Minister Surapong Suebwonglee wants the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) to include one of its senior managers to act as "watchdog" in a new mobile-phone company to be launched in January. Meeting with state telecommunications officials on Monday, Surapong said the CAT should have a member in the management line-up of Thailand's fourth cellular-phone operator, Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia. The CAT had a 35-per cent stake in the company and was not simply granting a concession, Surapong said. Management of the new cellular-phone operator was top of the minister's agenda for the meeting, although CAT officials were keen to discuss privatisation issues. Hutchison-CAT is a joint venture between the CAT and Hong Kong telecom giant Hutchison Telecommunications. Tawan Mobile Telecom - in which Hutchison has a majority holding - owns 65 per cent of the company. Hutchison-CAT has been building its network. Rivals are said to be keen to learn how the company will market its 3G service, the first in Thailand. The company is expected to have a soft launch of its new service by the end of November and a commercial launch by January next year. It will use the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 1x technology. The 3G technology rivals GSM technology as its handsets allow users to access multimedia content. Industry sources said Hutchison-CAT would not offer free handsets. The 3G hardware is priced at a premium of about at about Bt20,000 a unit. Reports have suggested the company would offer free airtime for a limited period as an incentive to subscribers. Telecom industry observers questioned how the new player could make inroads into the GSM-dominated Thai market. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra earlier this year criticised CDMA technology as outmoded. The industry was caught by surprise when major handset distributor M Link Asia Corp, founded by the premier's sister Montathip Kovitcharoenkul, announced in August its support of a Siam MCT-Ericsson consortium bid to supply the provincial CDMA network to the CAT. The consortium bid was disqualified after failing to meet all the bid requirements. Hutchison will market the new service in metropolitan areas. The CAT will promote the company upcountry.