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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: foundation who wrote (31317)	1/17/2003 7:58:32 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196519

Thailand to Upgrade (CDMA) Mobile Phone Network, Offer High-Speed Data Service Bangkok Post, Thailand January 17, 2003, Friday By Komsan Tortermvasana The CDMA mobile phone service planned by the Communications Authority of Thailand will move ahead, according to Surapong Suebwonglee, the information and communications technology minister. Dr Surapong yesterday met executives of the CAT to discuss the project and plans to upgrade the mobile phone network into a third-generation mobile service offering high-speed data services. While Dr Surapong said the CDMA project had to move forward, additional technology investment and business plans had to be based on a clear vision of the system's future position in the competitive market. He asked for one week to study the various business proposals submitted by the CAT, including the three options proposed for the network expansion programme: a 12-year lease of equipment, an outright investment or investment through a joint venture. "I don't want to see the CDMA project fade, similar to the Thai Mobile system's relatively weak start. Thai Mobile to this day still could not offer full services on its own network, and still lacked a clear business plan," he said. Thai Mobile, a joint venture of the CAT and TOT Corp, was launched last November and is based on 1900 Megahertz. The CDMA system is being marketed by Hutchison CAT, a joint venture between the CAT and Hong Kong-based Hutchison. The service will be launched in Bangkok and 22 provinces under the "Hutch" brand in the next few months. An expansion of CDMA nationwide is already being planned, encompassing the installation of around 1,000 base stations in the North, Northeast and South, with a total capacity of 1.68 million customers. A coalition led by Nortel Networks and Realtime, a Ucom Group subsidiary, has won the contract to build the nationwide network at a price of 32.7 billion baht. The CAT had originally looked to lease network equipment under a 12-year contract. But the proposal has struck opposition from various parties, as the expansion quote was more than twice the original 15 billion baht budget proposed for the network. CAT and Nortel have said the final 32.7 billion baht price included interest costs for the lifetime of the project, whereas the 15 billion baht original figure was based only on initial payments. Even so, Dr Surapong said he expected third-generation mobile services to be rolled out in the region quicker than expected. Existing cellular providers, such as Advanced Info Service, DTAC and TA Orange, have been coy about their own 3G expansion plans, with most choosing instead to introduce 2.5G services while waiting to see whether market demand would justify the new expenses. Current providers, based on the GSM system, would potentially incur tens of billions of baht in costs to change their network to 3G. In contrast, CDMA technology is relatively easier to convert to 3G. In any case, a formal signing of the CAT contract with Nortel has already been delayed twice. CAT officials said privately the delays were mostly due to expectations of a pending board shake-up by the CAT in preparation for privatisation. The CAT plans to split operations into CAT Telecom Co and Thailand Postal Service Co, with CAT Telecom eventually listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. TOT Corp, which handles fixed-line services and has already completed the corporatisation process, is expected to be listed on the SET by the second quarter, according to Dr Surapong.