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Mobile operators say any 'political' blockages don't originate with them
Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn
Mobile-phone users sometimes wonder if sinister forces are at work when they are unable to make or receive calls.
Concerns reached new levels among PAD protesters last week. They blamed mobile operators for disconnecting their signals in the Bangkok areas that are the focus of ongoing protest rallies, making it harder to co-ordinate activities.
However, Wichian Mektrakarn, the president of Advanced Info Service (AIS), says mobile operators have no right to cut off signals from customers to networks as it would violate the telecom law.
Under the law, governed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), operators who intentionally block calls can have their concessions revoked, he says.
Mr Wichian insisted that AIS had no policy or intention to shut down or block networks, which would be very difficult to do in practice in any case.
However, he said police and military agencies could disrupt network infrastructure in specific areas.
They would use jamming equipment that is designed to block wireless and WiFi networks, GPS and navigation signals, e-mail and Bluetooth connections. The technology transmits electronic waves and can block cellular communications for up to an eight-kilometre radius.
''They [the government agencies] have the right to temporarily disrupt networks with no necessity to inform operators for national security and political stability reasons,'' he said.
Mr Wichian observed that network disruptions at night might not stem from the government's intention to cut off communication. It might just as easily be due to traffic congestion as so many people are making calls or using mobile data applications simultaneously.
In fact, he said that if all protesters could not make any calls, then it could be called a network blockade. But if only a few people could not make connections, that might be due to heavy congestion.
Mr Wichian also said that AIS had no plan to add capacity or base stations to accommodate high call traffic in protest zones, they way it does in peak periods such as New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day.
Traffic so far, he said, was normal and the company's network was functioning as expected.
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