After a public hearing, the telecom regulator is considering a new flat rate of 1.50 baht for the mobile phone numbering fee collected from operators per month per number, down from the 1.62-baht rate floated two months ago.
The new rate is expected to be applied from January.
During the public hearing about the issue, major mobile operators wanted a new flat rate of one baht per month per number, but the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said such a rate is too low and could markedly reduce the revenue the regulator passes on to state coffers and related funds.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the present two rates applied to operators, of one baht and two baht, were determined by the allocation of mobile phone numbers by the regulator in the past.
Some 70% of mobile numbers operated by Advanced Info Service (AIS) and its subsidiary AWN are subject to a fee of one baht per month, while the rest are charged two baht.
The same figures apply to Total Access Communication (DTAC) and its subsidiary DTAC TriNet Network (DTN).
For True Move H Universal Communication (TUC), 70% of mobile numbers are charged two baht per month, with the rest at one baht.
The numbering fees differ because of past allocation regimes. Numbers that came from the 2G mobile concession are charged one baht per month per number.
Many mobile numbers were transferred to AWN and DTN after their concessions expired, with fewer numbers for TUC.
When the NBTC called the bidding for 3G spectrum licences in 2012, it decided to provide the bid winners with mobile phone numbers that have a numbering fee of one baht. AWN and DTN each demanded 24 million numbers from the regulator, while TUC asked for just 4 million.
Mr Takorn said the reduction of the planned fee from 1.62 to 1.50 baht would result in a drop of 200 million baht in the NBTC's revenue per year. The regulator currently earns 2.6 billion baht per year from the fee.
The new rate will be forwarded to the NBTC board for approval later this month, he said.
Despite an annual loss of 200 million baht in revenue, the move would benefit the public when the operators need more phone numbers for next-generation wireless broadband connectivity, Mr Takorn said.
The NBTC also plans to force the major operators to offer eased promotional charges to customers, he said, in line with the new numbering fee rate.