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Published on September 1, 2007

Meanwhile, TOT's board yesterday appointed its chairman's adviser, Admiral Bannavit Kengrien, a close friend of Saprang, as chairman of ACT Mobile and a board director of Thai Mobile.

ACT Mobile and Thai Mobile are the network provider and cellular operator joint ventures respectively of TOT and CAT Telecom.

Saprang said the negative reports about him were not attempts to have him removed from the boards of TOT or Airports of Thailand, but he declined to elaborate on their real purpose.

Saprang is a strong candidate for the post of commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army.

He once described the work of TOT executives as "really lousy".

Recently the TOT's labour union asked the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to change the board, given its lack of management experience and the conflicts among some directors and management, saying these factors This prompted TOT's revenue to drop.

Saprang reacted by saying that only Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and chairman of the Council for National Security General Sonthi Boonyaratglin could sack him.

Saprang said that he originally intended to stay at TOT until October but ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told him to remain in the post until December.

TOT director Nalikatibhag Sangsnit insisted yesterday that the appointment of Bannavit to Thai Mobile and ACT Mobile did not contravene any relevant regulations.

Bannavit said that he would solve any problems at Thai Mobile and ATC Mobile within one month.

ATC Mobile has provided the 1900 MHz network for

 

 

 Thai Mobile to offer a cellular service. Since the start of operations four years ago, ACT Mobile has accumulated debts of Bt200 million and Thai Mobile debts of Bt7.2 billion. The TOT's board is seeking the reason for their huge debts.

In a separate matter, TOT has sought a Central Administrative Court order to reverse the order of the national telecom regulator that it enter into negotiations with Total Access Communication (DTAC) on an interconnection agreement.

The move reflects the TOT's continued opposition to the interconnection regulations of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

TOT also asked for a court injunction to protect it from the possibility that the NTC would fine it because of its refusal to talk with DTAC on the interconnection charge matter.

The NTC's arbitration committee had asked TOT and DTAC to enter into negotiations on an interconnection agreement after both took the case to the committee, following TOT's earlier refusal to talk with DTAC on the matter.

The interconnection regulations require all telecom operators to share voice and data revenue between the networks involved in the calls on a proportionate and fair basis.

DTAC and True Move stopped paying TOT the access charge last November and have moved to comply with the interconnection fee instead.

The access charge is what DTAC, True Move and Digital Phone - all on CAT Telecom concessions - pay TOT for connecting their calls to other networks via TOT's facilities.

TOT was earning Bt14 billion in access charges per year. Nalikatibhag said that TOT would suffer a huge financial blow if it lost the access charge.

Usanee Mongkolporn

 The Nation