HOME REVIEW

Bidding papers for Asia's last great 3G auction went on sale at the office of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and five buyers bought eight lots of them; the dark horses from Samart I-Mobile and Loxley plunked down their envelopes of baht, but the Big Boys sent two agents each; there was No 1 yuppiephone firm Advanced Info Service of Shingapore and its subsidiary AWN, No 2 network Dtac of Norway and its subsidiary DTAC Internet Service, and No 3 provider True Move of Thailand and its arm SK Wireless; the big guys are still waiting to see if they can get in on 3G with a "new" firm that isn't beholden to your TOT or your CAT Telecom, and if so, the subsidiaries will be the bidders if licences actually do go under the gavel on Sept 28 - but otherwise the existing companies will bid; the auction could theoretically get hot, but probably cool heads will keep the prices down to a manageable level; setting up and starting a real 3G network will cost at least 30 billion baht on top of the licence fee of 13 to 30 billion, experts believe.

True Corp CEO Suphachai Chearavanont

The Magnificent Seven will sponsor a five-day 3G Expo starting on Sept 8, just like every other country did years ago; the Expo will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center to explain 3G to the nation, sponsored by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The National Telecommunications Commission said it intends to quit trying to root out all that foreign domination in the Thai telecoms business - right after the Winter Olympics in Pattaya; commissioner Sudharm Yoonaidharm said it was simply un-Thai to allow such domination, although he did not try to say how much was too much; No 1 yuppiephone firm Advanced Info Service is heavily owned by Temasek Holdings of Shingapore, while No 2 network Dtac is strongly influenced by Telenor and Norwegian executives; the two companies said they might have to sue the NTC if it tried in any manner to prevent them from getting into the 3G phone business; Mr Sudharm also waved aside claims by Europeans that the NTC was violating fairness regulations of the World Trade Organisation; tish-tosh, he explained, the Europeans don't understand the WTO rules.

Dtac executive Narupon Rattanasamaharn said the attempt by the Magnificent Seven to stop all that foreign domination going on in the telecoms business was a naked attempt to favour No 3 yuppiephone network True Move, the subsidiary of CP and the only majority-Thai owned network among the Big Three; nonsense, exclaimed True Corp CEO Suphachai Chearavanont, the National Telecommunications Commission isn't doing True Move any favours; in fact the proposal to limit foreign domination actually harms True Move, since no foreign investors will want to come in and establish partnerships or joint ventures; on the other hand, as a patriotic Thai unlike some people he could name at rival companies, Mr Suphachai recognises the duty of the NTC to protect national assets and protect national security.

Drug dealers from Thailand have recruited female "mules" from the Philippines by using online dating and social networks; Philippines Ambassador Linglingay Lacanlale told the Manila media that men chat up Filipinas at romantic sites, and if the discussions go well invite the women to Thailand for a meeting; after that, the men recruit the women to fly to drug-producing countries, usually in Latin America, and carry drugs back to Asia; several Filipinas have been caught and jailed, at least two of them in Thailand, in recent months. Brunei police arrested five people with kilogrammes of dope in three separate incidents and believe they busted a smuggling syndicate peddling marijuana from Thailand; the Brunei Narcotics Control Bureau said the gang was using Facebook to contact buyers and make the money exchanges.

The company formerly known as Shin Satellite said it will soon sign a contract with an Indian company to provide Internet service at broadband speeds with the iPSTAR satellite; Thaicom chief financial officer Tanadit Charoenchan was so excited about the development that he forgot to mention the Indian firm involved; he said the contract will be signed in the third quarter, but be retroactive to June; he said he expects Thaicom to turn a profit this year on stronger sales, including the pending deal in India.

A proposal to introduce e-ticketing on Bangkok city buses got a predictable "delay" after protests by the labour union of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority; Weerapong Wongwan, the union's president for vice, said the proposal would "adversely affect staff", meaning ticket-takers and conductors would be laid off; he counter-proposed an early retirement scheme, and then e-ticketing after that.