Telecoms, CAT want IC rate to be temporary
Privately owned telecom operators and CAT Telecom have reached an agreement to propose that the national telecom regulator implement a temporary interconnection charge (IC).
Before the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was set up, they had agreed that the IC rate should be Bt1.07 per minute. The interconnection charge regulation took effect on May 17, and - according to the NTC's timeframe - each telecom operator must submit a proposal to the NTC by tomorrow. They are required to propose an IC rate, as well as provide details of their business structure and operating costs. A telecom executive said the operators could not yet provide complete details on their business structure and operating costs. However, they need the NTC to start implementing the IC in order to ensure fair treatment to all operators, said the executive who declined to be named. The interconnection regime part of the NTC's effort to encourage liberalisation of the telecom sector to welcome newcomers and provide a level playing field for existing operators. The operators, however, say that within the short time period imposed they cannot propose a new regime for NTC standards so the NTC should introduce a temporary rate. Meanwhile, acting TOT president Chamras Tantrisukorn said the TOT would ask for a 30-day extension period from the NTC, claiming it could not finish an action plan to cope with the new regime. The TOT is expected to be the most affected by the new regime as it owns telecom concession contracts and collects access charges. It collects an access charge fee of Bt200 per number per month from the CAT concessionaires Total Access Communication and True Move. Yesterday, the TOT held an internal seminar on the impact of the interconnection regulation, saying it had unclear terms and conditions that could affect the whole industry. Veerawat Thepsoontorn, TOT's executive for the interconnection department, said at the meeting that it was unclear whether the TOT had to scrap its access charge to welcome the interconnection fee. The TOT would lose about Bt14 billion a year if it had to scrap the access charge regime, he said. "It will seriously dampen the TOT's revenue and profit. The TOT has to try to convince all operators to keep transit lines through TOT instead of building their own direct links," he said. There are about 20 billion minutes of access through the TOT network per year.
Usanee Mongkolporn The Nation
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