Yesterday TrueVisions launched its True Life Plus box at 1,590 baht, the same price as the set-top box offered by GMM Z, a satellite TV unit of GMM Grammy. However, it has a special offer for 10,000 boxes to be sold at 999 baht at various department stores.

The set-top boxes offered by both operators are plug-and-play, with buyers paying for the boxes one time to view both free and satellite TV channels, with no monthly fees.

Anat Mekpaiboonvatana, managing director of TrueVisions, said its set-top boxes target the mass market and it expects to sell 50,000 boxes per month.

“We don’t want to compete with any operator. The set-top box is our new initiative for customers. We saw demand for satellite TV set-top boxes grow significantly with only a few operators,” he said.

About 20 million Thai households have access to satellite TV networks.

TrueVisions offers English Premier League and Thai Premier League football matches, world boxing championships and WWE wrestling for three months free of charge. After the free viewing period expires, customers wishing to renew it are required to pay 300 baht per month.

True Life Plus set-top boxes can be installed and connected with both C-band and KU-band satellite dishes. Broadcasting coverage is nationwide and viewers can watch over 200 channels. There are more than 1,000 points of sale in Bangkok and the provinces.

“We’re confident we can sell up to 400,000 set-top boxes this year and our sales will rise by 20%,” said Mr Anat.

GMM Z, which is a pioneer in the set-top box market, expects to sell 2 million set-top boxes this year. It already sold 600,000 boxes in January and February. Its GMM Z box can be connected with all satellite dish brands. Its dish partner is PSI Holding.

Grammy sealed broadcast rights for the 2012 Uefa European Football Championship, which will be a main marketing focus.

Thana Thienachariya, CEO of GMM Z, said the TrueVisions’ campaign will spur competition and stimulate demand in both the cable and satellite television markets.

“We expect to see the total number of cable TV households grow exponentially in the next 12 months.”

He said conventional antennas will become extinct by next year, thanks to the intense competition.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/289572/truevisions-launches-box

News from the Bangkok Post

Advanced Info Service, Thailand’s largest mobile operator, is restructuring its management for a major business diversification, a top executive says.

The restructure has emerged as the Thai telecom industry prepares for a 3G licensing auction on the 2100 MHz frequency scheduled for October.

Under the restructure, Somchai Lertsutiwong will move from executive vice-president for marketing to the newly created position of chief marketing officer. He will be responsible for exploring new areas for business development.

Mark Chong Chin Kok, the chief operating officer, will also be appointed as deputy executive vice-president for marketing to temporarily take over Mr Somchai’s tasks.

The changes will take effect this Friday.

Mr Somchai has served as executive vice-president for marketing for five years, the longest for that post. He will become one of the top four management executives at AIS, required to declare his shareholding stake to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

AIS’s parent InTouch Plc, formerly known as Shin Corporation, recently announced its plan to jump into the red-hot digital television fray under a planned licence from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.

Vice-chairman Somprasong Boonyachai said InTouch is preparing to form a new subsidiary to operate the digital TV service. The strategy is part of the group’s policy to focus on its core telecom and media businesses.

Mr Somprasong said InTouch would probably enter a joint venture with prospective digital TV operators and content providers. The company already has all the equipment and infrastructure for both mobile phones and satellite, which could make for a fast transition to digital TV.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/289403/ais-lays-out-restructure

News from the Bangkok Post

The National Anti-Corruption Commission insists it will today definitely announce its complete findings on the contentious third-generation (3G) network deal between True Corp and CAT Telecom.

Medhi Krongkaew, an NACC board member and head of the sub-committee investigating the issue, promised he would resign if the sub-committee misses the deadline again.

The NACC has spent almost a year looking into the deal made in early 2011 between True Corp and state-owned CAT. Divided into six contracts, it followed True’s acquisition of the small Hutch mobile business after CAT abandoned its plan to buy the business.

The anti-graft agency had initially planned to issue its report on April 5. Mr Medhi said the investigation was in fact finished a month ago and its 34-page findings would be released today.

The sub-committee must submit its resolutions to the NACC board, which must then decide whether to petition the courts for further action, he said.

Mr Medhi acknowledged that the seven-person committee was not unanimous in its opinion. Some believed the contracts were in violation of telecom-related laws while the others believed the deals were in compliance.

“Only a single concrete resolution will be issued today,” he stressed.

Mr Medhi said the second of the six contracts _ involving the BFKT network-rental deal _ appeared to face the strongest challenge as it may breach several issues in Telecom Business Act 2001.

CAT had promised that cellular equipment owned by BFKT, its original joint venture with Hutch, could only be used with CAT-owned frequencies through the 14-year contract life.

The NACC’s greatest concern was whether the deal violated Article 46 of the Frequency Allocation Act, which obliges licence-holders to manage spectrum rights on their own.

They are prohibited from allowing other parties to do the job on their behalf.

Mr Medhi said BFKT also did not have a type III licence granted by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to provide network rental service.

An NBTC committee expects to release its own fact-finding report on the True-CAT deal in May, said Setthapong Malisuwan, the vice-chairman of the regulator.

Its scrutiny will focus on whether the deal complied with Article 46 of the Frequency Allocation Act and Article 81 of the Telecom Business Act, he said.

The Information and Communication Technology Ministry reported late last month that irregularities had been uncovered that could result in the 6-billion-baht True-CAT agreement being scrapped.

Critics said the 14-year deal effectively gave True a head-start on 3G at the expense of its rivals. It also removed huge business uncertainty for True Move, whose mobile concession was scheduled to expire next year.

Even if the findings go against True, it could continue to operate 3G services under the deal until the courts make a final ruling, which could take years for all appeals to be exhausted.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/289970/anti-corruption-panel-to-reveal-3g-decision-today

News from the Bangkok Post

Thai Plus Media, a subsidiary of mushroom drink manufacturer ThaiHealth, has purchased Radio OK.

Thai Plus Media aims to expand its community radio network and use its new acquisition to support the healthy drink business.

Panyos Oakkharaamonphong, CEO of ThaiHealth, said that Thai Plus Media spent around 50 million baht to buy Radio OK, which operates 90 radio stations, mainly community radio stations.

Before acquiring Radio OK, Thai Plus Media owned about 100 community radio frequencies. The Radio OK acquisition will double its network size to 200 stations.

“We have seriously focused on the radio business because it’s a key channel to promote our mushroom drink. The network of Radio OK will help drive sales of ThaiHealth to reach 400 million baht this year,” he said.

According Thai Plus Media research, there were a total of 600 radio stations and 6,000 community radio stations nationwide last year, but media spending on radio remains low. It was only about 5-6 billion baht in 2011, flat from 2010.

Media spending on TV last year grew 16% to 70.4 billion baht. There are six free TV, 200 satellite TV and 500 local cable TV channels.

Although ad spending on radio is falling, Mr Panyos said that he believes that the business will turn positive as it’s cyclical, like the stock market.

Thai Plus Media will supply content to the Radio OK network and each radio station will promote ThaiHealth products.

Thai Plus Media will maintain Radio OK’s popular stations, like OK Hook, OK Love, and OK Look Thung. New stations, like OK News, will be introduced.

“Thai Plus Media hopes to be a major community radio operator after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) issues a law to govern radio frequencies,” he said.

When the new law and related regulations are implemented, the radio business will boom again. At that time, Thai Plus Media will be able to grow more and attract a lot of media spending.

Apart from community radio stations, Thai Plus Media also owns Sawaddee TV, which broadcasts on satellite TV channels 69 and 22.

The company believes that its radio businesses will help support its mushroom drink business.

Thai Plus Media has set a budget of 20-30 million baht for marketing to promote its radio stations.

Around four big campaigns will be introduced this year under the OK Jad Pai concept.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/290140/community-radio-ok-acquired

News from the Bangkok Post

The need to create an indelible first impression or simply to entertain is partially why mobile music downloads are skyrocketing, some 33 years after Sony first introduced us to “portable music” with its Walkman.

Both music downloads from internet-enabled portable devices that can be listened to on those devices and streaming are gaining in popularity. The trend has created massive download traffic for mobile operators _ it’s their fastest-growing revenue stream. And music labels love downloads and streaming because they help reduce digital piracy.

With the proliferation of smartphones coinciding with the expansion of 3G wireless broadband networks and faster internet speeds and bandwidth, the major three mobile operators _ AIS, DTAC and True Move _ are moving aggressively to cash in on the mobile music market.

The music services market from mobile operators and content providers is expected to rise 15% to 4.6 billion baht this year, said Pratthana Leelapanang, vice-president for value-added service at Advanced Info Service. Revenue grew by 8% to 4 billion in 2011.

Mr Pratthana said 90% of music downloads are ringtones and the remaining 10% song downloads. But the market share of full song downloads is expected to double this year.

He admitted operators need to cut prices of music downloads by bundling them with data packages. “This could reduce the price by three-fold compared to the previous fee of 20-30 baht per song,” said Mr Pratthana.

Affordable prices and easily access will be the key factors driving demand.

AIS, in collaboration with Sony Music, is adding international music to its Music Store, bringing its total library to 30,000 songs.

The company also plans to provide music video services and streaming concerts via mobile phones when internet speeds and bandwidth warrant it. Preparations are being made to extend music download support to Apple’s iPad and other tablets, in addition to the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android-based and Bada-based smartphones, he said.

Second-ranked operator DTAC is gearing up to launch its first cloud music services by July, allowing users to stream music online instead of on mobile phones.

Pakorn Pannachet, DTAC’s senior vice-president for products, said the cloud-based music service would help reduce digital piracy. Ringtones will remain the core revenue for mobile operators for now, he added.

Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, managing director for mobile business of True Corporation, said the company recently launched its H Music Store, enabling users to download and stream high-definition content with faster speeds through its 3G-plus network.

He said the overall digital music market is expected to grow by 15-20% this year. Without ringtones, the market value would only be 1.3 billion baht this year.

True Move, in collaboration with Universal Music, will provide exclusive content from renowned artists including Madonna and Lady Gaga. It plans to add Thai and Korean music later this year, said Mr Adhiruth.

Yew Ming Loo, regional vice-president for music and business development of Universal Music Group International, said True marked its fourth partnership in the region after Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Pattra Boonsarawongse, general manager of Sony Music Entertainment Operating (Thailand), said since Apple’s iTunes music store debut, digital download traffic has surpassed sales of conventional CDs at WalMart.

He said the digital music market in Thailand has plenty of room to grow, thanks to higher internet speed with expansion of the 3G network.

But piracy is still a major challenge. The mobile operators have formed an alliance to combat piracy and Ms Pattra said Sony hopes half of existing smartphone users illegally downloading will shift to legitimate channels on mobile phones.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/290332/nice-ringtone

News from the Bangkok Post