Customers will be charged Bt2 per minute for calls to other regions' numbers or other networks.

Early this month, AIS introduced a low-rate package for prepaid mobile-phone customers in the Northeast as part of its regional marketing strategy. The AIS package, which is for new subscribers, offers a rate of Bt1 per minute to call any network.

If customers travel outside the region, the call rate jumps to Bt2 within the AIS network and Bt4 to different networks.

The Northeast has become a battlefield for the two leading cellular operators, thanks to its large population of 21 million and more than five million mobile-phone subscribers, of which over three million are AIS subscribers while 1.5 million are DTAC users.

DTAC's chief commercial officer Thana Thienachariya said the Isaan region had high marketing potential and unique characteristics.

Chief executive Sigve Brekke said DTAC has been studying and marketing northeastern consumers for some time. The company has this year rolled out many base stations in the region, making its network coverage comparable to its main competitor.

The firm's latest package targets northeastern customers who frequently travel outside the region but remain strongly attached to their hometowns.

Meanwhile, DTAC this week reported third-quarter net profit of Bt1.2 billion, up 17.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. Service revenues were Bt11.9 billion, an increase of 16 per cent year on year.

DTAC obtained 841,044 net new customers in the quarter, bringing the total number to 11.5 million.

Of the net additions, 690,481 were prepaid and 150,563 were post-paid customers.

Telecom Reporters, The Nation