True Corporation has complied with the conditions set by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) for consumer protection, according to officials.
NBTC acting secretary-general Trairat Viriyasirikul and Prawet Moolpramuk, spokesman for the NBTC chairman, held a press conference on Tuesday to report the results of the regulator's supervision following the merger of True and Total Access Communication (DTAC), in response to public complaints about the NBTC's lack of consumer protection.
Mr Prawet said the NBTC board set 11 conditions for both of the telecom operators to follow during the merger and after the merger. He added that the merged entity, True Corporation, has complied with the conditions in terms of consumer protection.
Mr Trairat said that one condition is the merged entity has to reduce its service tariff by 12%. According to the NBTC's random checks, the company has complied with the condition by cutting prices on an average basis among its most widely used packages.
Regarding the public's complaint that the most affordable packages are no longer available, Mr Trairat said the NBTC found the packages are in fact still available but customers might not be able to identify them. Therefore, this issue may be related to the company's marketing strategy.
With regard to the signal quality, the merged entity is required to maintain the same number of mobile phone signal cell sites and the same quality of service.
Following the merger, True examined which locations have redundant True and DTAC cell sites in the same area and which of their telecom towers could provide a better service. The company will remove the towers that offer a lower standard of service, but it has not reduced the number of cell sites.
As a result, the signal quality has been maintained and the NBTC received only 17 complaints about the signal quality, Mr Trairat said.
He said the NBTC will present True's service quality report to the board for consideration today. He denied that the NBTC office has failed to perform its duty in terms of consumer protection.
True Corporation executives met with the NBTC on Dec 18 to clarify the issues pertaining to the signal quality, package fees, and customer service.
According to True, after the merger of True and DTAC, the quality of the 4G and 5G signal immediately improved for both the True and DTAC brands and the network coverage also expanded.
Before the merger, the 4G coverage of DTAC and True stood at 96.9% and 99%, respectively. Post-merger, the coverage of both brands reached 99.2%.
Prior to the merger, the 5G coverage of DTAC and True stood at 46.8% and 85.6%, respectively. Post-merger, the 5G coverage for both DTAC and True stands at 90%.
Moreover, True's use of state-of-the-art technology has resulted in an improved signal, while minimising signal interruption and expanding coverage nationwide.
Packages can still be purchased from 100 baht in both pre-paid and post-paid formats. Packages differ based on a variety of conditions so customers can choose the most appropriate package based on their personal preferences.
Meanwhile, if the contract of a package expires, True will send an SMS to the customer 30 days in advance and offer the most suitable package to fit the customer's lifestyle. If customers don't wish to switch package, post-paid customers can continue to use the same package or opt to apply for another package, while pre-paid customers can also select a preferred package.
The majority of the NBTC's seven commissioners submitted an urgent letter to the board's chairman seeking a resolution on handling public complaints related to the impact of the merger between True and DTAC.
True and DTAC completed their merger in March after the NBTC board formally acknowledged the merger in October 2022.