While TOT wants to gain support for the idea from fund-managers and the public, the fund-managers wanted to learn if the plan would affect the business of the listed private telecom operators.

According to Phatra Securities, which was at the meeting, TOT told the fund-managers it wanted to nationalise the backbone network and leave the "last-mile" networks to the private sector.

By doing so, TOT says, the government could eliminate redundant investment, improve network reliability and coverage and allow small players to enter the market, hence increasing competition.

It further wants to utilise the national network for non-profit services in rural areas and enhance national security.

The network-pool plan would see the establishment of a state-owned holding company with 100-per-cent stakes in TOT and CAT. The company would manage TOT's and CAT's networks. It would buy the backbone network from the state electricity agencies and then negotiate with private telecom concessionaires to join the pool.

Last week the Information and Communications Technology Ministry said the network pool would not necessarily include the networks of the state electricity organisations but they could take part in the project on a voluntary basis.

TOT director Vuthiphong Priebjrivat told the press he would ask the public to decide which way was best for TOT.

According to the Phatra report, TOT also said that the incentive for the private sector to join the pool was that private operators would have their concession contracts converted into network-rental contracts and pay rental fees to the TOT and CAT instead of huge annual concession fees.

They could also terminate the access charge, and there would be no expiry date for the rental contracts. The charge is what all three private cellular concessionaires of CAT have paid to TOT for connecting different networks via TOT facilities.

TOT has insisted that the last-mile should remain with the private sector under the build-transfer-operate (BTO) agreement, which means TOT and CAT would still own the last-mile networks but private firms that invested in them would have exclusive rights to use them.

It added that the holding company would finance the further investment of the pooled networks, but should new technology lead to the need for huge capital expenditure, investment on network expansion might be co-financed by the private sector.

TOT's pool idea has been criticised by industry experts, who doubt its efficiency to manage the pooled networks.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation