TOT Plc says it is drafting the shareholding structure of two new subsidiaries being set up to own its mobile base stations and related transmission assets.
The state telecom enterprise will hold no more than 49% of the two new entities, Tower-sharing Co and Transmission Co. Three funds will own a total of 50% and private telecom companies will own 1-2%.
The TOT subsidiaries will be established in October and subsequently listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
The structure has received the full support of the information and communication technology (ICT) minister. It is also in line with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's (NBTC) policy of encouraging state telecom enterprises to become network service providers and end their role as operators.
TOT board chairman Panthep Chamrasromran said the plans would enable the sharing of TOT's mobile towers and fibre-optic network in anticipation of fierce competition in third-generation (3G) wireless broadband services.
"At least 10 asset management companies have expressed interest in participating in the ventures. Some have even had preliminary talks with us about the details," he said.
"TOT will hold the largest stake, but not more than 49%," he added.
Mr Panthep said TOT had already discussed with the SET chairman the possible listing of the two companies, and the talks have been satisfactory. The new companies would be listed in the SET's infrastructure sub-category.
ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap last week met the boards of TOT and CAT Telecom to discuss how the two state telecom enterprises could maximise the use of their infrastructure assets.
A panel is being set up to prepare both telecom enterprises to become infrastructure providers leasing their telecom networks and infrastructure to private operators instead of competing directly in the retail market.
Mr Panthep also said the NBTC was encouraging network sharing between concession owners and concessionaires.
He said TOT and its concessionaire, Advanced Info Service, were in talks on possible network cooperation.
The NBTC is revising a draft document on mobile tower licensing and is expected to complete the regulations by the end of this year.
The change is in line with Section 84 of the Frequency Allocation Act. Under the act, TOT and CAT are required to return revenue from their concessions and frequency-related services to the NBTC starting Dec 20, 2013. The NBTC will then pass the revenue on to the state.
The state companies will not be able to book concession revenue in their financial statements after the deadline. It is possible they will face financial collapse if their revenue and assets are not restructured.
TOT will receive a total of 13,000 base stations from AIS when the concession ends while CAT will be getting 18,000 base stations transferred to it by Total Access Communication, True Move and Digital Phone.
TOT earned 19 billion baht from concessionaire AIS last year. Its net profit was 6 billion baht. AIS's concession will expire in 2015.