The Thai mobile sector has been affected by the ongoing investigations into the connections between theformer prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Shin Corp, which holds a 43% stake in leading mobileprovider Advanced Info Service (AIS). Regulatory body, the National Telecommunications Commission(NTC) is looking into the validity of operators and their mobile licences, following the purchase of ShinCorp by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. However, the NTC is hopeful this issue can be resolved quicklyas it looks to introduce greater competition and advanced technological platforms across the sector.
With a mobile customer base of 43.5mn at the end of March 2007, Thailand provides a mature marketwith a penetration rate of 66%. Growth continues to remain robust, with 3.6mn net additions during thequarter, and the recent introduction of inter-connection fees has led to price stability. This provideswelcome relief for operators long embroiled in aggressive price wars, while maintaining low tariffs whichbenefit the end user. While all these factors are welcome, average revenue per user (ARPU) has continuedto be negatively affected. During Q107, all three major operators - AIS, DTAC and True Move -reported lower blended ARPU compared to a year earlier. While this is not surprising, with pre-paid netadditions continuing to dilute the subscriber mix, operators are eager that the NTC encourage the recentsmall-level growth that has occurred across the post-paid subscriber base.
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