The National Tele communications Commission approved a fixed-telephone business licence for True Corp's wholly owned unit yesterday, NTC secretary-general Suranan Wongvithayakamjorn said.

R&R will pay 3 per cent of its annual revenue as licence fee to the NTC.

Suranan said that before the NTC decision, the telecom watchdog had asked True if the move by R&R would create any problems for True with TOT, which granted True its concession to operate a telephone service in greater Bangkok.

"True informed us that it'll have no problem," Suranan said.

The NTC had posed the same question to TOT, which operates a nationwide telephone service, but the state agency did not reply, he said.

True Group's businesses range from wireless to broadband Internet and pay-TV.

Industry players have speculated that True would soon migrate its two million telephone customers to R&R as a way to reduce its own concession fee. True has shared 16 per cent of its telephone revenue with TOT.

R&R seems to be encroaching on the goldmine of TT&T, which has operated a telephone service across the country under a concession from TOT, except in greater Bangkok.

But a TT&T executive said that whether TT&T and R&R would engage in fierce competition depends on R&R's business model. TT&T, through its subsidiary TT&T Broadband, also has an NTC licence to operate a telephone network across the country.

TT&T is now focusing on the broadband Internet and data services of TT&T Broadband, the source said.

TT&T has shared 43.5 per cent of its revenue with TOT.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation