The air in the room crackles with energy and power as technicians and engineers scurry back and forth before rows and rows of flat-screen monitors flashing numbers in red, blue and white, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From the meeting room behind the ceiling-high glass, giant projectors flash graphs, charts and maps that track the pulse of millions of people as they chat, email and talk across the country.

Mr Abdullah speaks with a technician in the network control centre, which monitors transmissions nationwide. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD

Jon Eddy Abdullah, the chief executive of Total Access Communication (DTAC), waves a hand across the room.

“From the network control room, we monitor transmissions nationwide, every minute in the day,” he says.

DTAC, the country’s second-largest mobile operator with more than 23 million subscribers, is in the midst of a massive upgrade of its network infrastructure aimed at supporting the firm’s business growth through the rest of the decade.

Why? Only several years ago, mobile phones served primarily as a tool for voice communications and SMS. Now, the explosion of smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy line, social media networks such as Facebook and the growth of bandwidth-hungry applications and services has put more strain than ever on GSM networks developed over a decade ago.

“We’re changing an average of 225 base stations per week and expect to complete the upgrade for the entire nationwide network this year,” said Mr Abdullah, referring to DTAC’s core 1800-megahertz GSM system.

DTAC is also rolling out an 850-MHz third-generation (3G) wireless network, with 5,000 stations installed nationwide by year-end. The firm has budgeted up to 9 billion baht for capital investments for 2012.

“We have five years left [under DTAC's concession contract with CAT Telecom],” said Mr Abdullah. “We want to invest in both 2G and 3G. We’re investing in the entire customer base.”

Demand for 3G network services has skyrocketed with the proliferation of always-on smartphones. Both DTAC and market leader Advanced Info Service (AIS) are rolling out limited 3G networks while awaiting plans by telecom operators to auction new 3G licences using the 2100-MHz spectrum later this year.

DTAC has seen data traffic increase four- or five-fold since it launched 3G services one year ago. The company currently has 850 3G stations in Bangkok and 2,300 nationwide.

Mr Abdullah said DTAC’s plan to improve both its existing 2G network and invest in its 3G network is a “strategic move” that will give the company an advantage over both AIS and third-ranked TrueMove.

AIS, with more than 34 million subscribers as of March 31, has been struggling with call congestion and dropouts due to network constraints on its 900-MHz spectrum. TrueMove, meanwhile, with 19.3 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter, has been promoting its TrueMove H 3G service in Bangkok and other urban areas.

Regardless, Mr Abdullah said the rollout of 3G on the 850-MHz band is a stop-gap measure, and that a genuine change in the industry’s infrastructure will not arrive until the auction of new 3G licences on the 2100-MHz spectrum.

Both AIS and DTAC are pushing for the 3G licence auctions to not only gain breathing space to roll out new network technology but also escape their existing revenue-sharing concession agreements with the two state utilities _ TOT Corp and CAT Telecom.

DTAC currently pays a 30% concession fee to CAT Telecom compared with 25% for AIS. Rising regulatory fees have been a factor in the drop in DTAC’s recent financial performance _ first-quarter net profit was 2.99 billion baht, up by 25.9% quarter-on-quarter but down by 10% year-on-year.

Network disruptions also affected the quarterly results, said Mr Abdullah.

“First-quarter gross sales showed some fallout from the network troubles, but second-quarter sales have come back,” he said. “Actually, what we saw was users switching away from DTAC as their primary SIM [due to the network problems]. Now the trend is reversing.”

In December and January, DTAC suffered a series of network outages due to technical database problems and a cut in its fibre-optic cables running to the southern provinces.

Mr Abdullah said DTAC has since “doubled its risk-prevention measures” and built more redundancy across the network.

The outages, which spurred an outcry on social networks among customers, also forced DTAC to re-examine its communications policies and how it treats customers overall.

Mr Abdullah said DTAC is in the midst of “completely overhauling the organisation”, with the goal of streamlining work processes and realigning operations to focus on customers.

“We’ve also rethought our core values. Who do we want to be? We want to be the good guy, the cool guy, the guy at the party who is in the know,” he said earnestly.

“Fresh, innovative, cool _ we’re cool, we’re trendy. That’s the goal.”

Mr Abdullah said it starts with a simple question _ would customers recommend the brand to their friends and family?

“Our biggest obstacle is our processes are not customer-focused. We’re stuck in time and too aligned to voice and SMS rather than a model based on applications, data or [smartphone] devices,” he said.

More than 20 transformation projects are underway, with regular high-level meetings held each month.

“What I’m telling people is not to spray perfume on things. If there’s a problem, then we have to fix it,” said Mr Abdullah.

The transformation is most evident with DTAC’s retail strategy and the planned revamp of its 300 stores nationwide in a project that borrows a page from Apple’s wildly successful retail stores.

“People want to buy the top-10 devices. Our goal for our stores is to split 50% retail sales, 50% services. Previously, most of our stores focused on service,” said Mr Abdullah.

He said the growing sophistication of modern smartphones and their integration with email, chat and social media accounts have increased the need for personalised configuration services right at the point-of-sale.

“We’re offering a full-service package bundled with our 3G services, but we’re not pursuing the mass market. Our retail strategy isn’t going to compete on volume,” said Mr Abdullah.

“But modern phone operating systems are complicated. The idea is for us to control the experience, to help ensure that it all just works.”

The strategy is showing results, as DTAC’s first-quarter sales of handsets and starter kits jumped by 116% quarter-on-quarter to 2.95 billion baht, driven primarily by the launch of the new iPhone 4S.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/301893/mobile-mainstay-on-a-mission

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A subsidiary of Samart Corporation has been awarded a contract by TOT Plc to become a major mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) for the state telecom enterprise’s third-generation (3G) wireless broadband service.

Under the five-year agreement, I-Mobile Plus will have the exclusive right to 40% of the state’s 3G network capacity to be resold to end-users under TOT’s new 3G business model, said TOT board chairman Panthep Chamrasromran.

The TOT board yesterday approved the contract, which will be reviewed every two years.

Mr Panthep said I-Mobile Plus has to pay TOT a guaranteed minimum revenue of 156 million baht for the first year and 476 million for the second.

TOT is also in talks with Loxley Plc for the latter to retail 20% of its 3G network capacity. For the remaining 40% of the capacity, Mr Panthep said TOT would require no guaranteed minimum revenue. Prospective winners of this portion of the capacity are 365 Communication, M Consult Asia, IEC Technology, Acumen and Jasmine Telecom Systems.

An MVNO is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation or its own infrastructure.

Previously, TOT signed one-year contracts with five firms to provide 3G service under the MVNO model. They were Samart I-Mobile, Loxley, IEC Technology, 365 Communication and M Consult Asia.

TOT has revamped its 3G business plan to match the current market situation and create better market opportunities.

Mr Panthep said TOT now has 2,300 3G base stations and expects the number to reach 5,320 in October. TOT had signed a co-site agreement with mobile leader Advanced Info Service to share 800 base stations during the first stage plus an additional 300 sites with No.3 TrueMove.

Mr Panthep said I-Mobile Plus targets having 860,000 3G subscribers in the first year of operations and 1.81 million in the second year. To accommodate demand, TOT’s board will discuss the second phase of 3G network expansion on July 26.

Mr Panthep said TOT plans to ask the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission for permission to use 30 megahertz of its 64-MHz bandwidth on the 2300-MHz frequency to provide 4G LTE service.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/302223/samart-to-sell-40-of-tot-3g-bandwidth

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GMM Grammy, the country’s largest entertainment company, plans to spend over 10 billion baht on content to support its satellite television platform over the next three years, said chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham.

The company said it will further select both international and local content from several categories including entertainment, documentaries and sports to add to its GMM Z set-top box.

“We are ready to fully engage in the TV set-top box business. We are trying to bring best content like the Thailand Premier League as well as the English Premier League to our platform,” the chairman said.

Mr Paiboon said Grammy is now preparing clear rules about the broadcast of pay TV with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). It will soon add GMM Sports as a new satellite TV channel and three pay TV channels which will offer world-class content when the rules are finalised.

The company has already spent around 3 billion baht since the beginning of the year on content including the Uefa Euro 2012 which ended last month.

Grammy has sold over a million GMM Z boxes to date.

It is confident that sports will help propel its satellite television box sales to 2 million boxes this year.

It will also launch a low-cost set-top box called GMM Mini in August. Grammy expects to sell around 500,000 boxes over the next six months.

The company will spend around 500 million baht improving its existing 10 satellite TV channels this year.

Grammy has been appointed by sports media agency MP&Silva as the official broadcaster of the English NPower Championship (formerly known as the Championship League) and Capital One Cup (also known as Carling Cup) for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

The deal for the two leagues is estimated to be worth almost 100 million baht.

Kobkiat Sangwanich, managing director of GMM Sports and content development, said the company is trying to introduce various content to audiences and educate grass-roots viewers to become fans of other football leagues, not just the English Premier League.

Grammy shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 23.80 baht, up 10 satang, in trade worth 18.23 million baht.http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/303009/gmm-to-spend-b10bn-on-satellite-tv-content

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The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission finally set a reserve price for the third-generation licencing auction on the 2100-MHz spectrum at 4.5 billion baht for each 5-MHz slot.

Dr Pacharasut Sujarittanonta of Cramton Associates, the administrator, explains the bidding process at the mock 3G auction in Bangkok yesterday. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

The price was approved yesterday by an NBTC sub-committee. It will be used for the 3G auction in the fourth quarter of this year.

The sub-committee will submit the reserve price to the telecommunications committee today, before passing it to the NBTC board for approval on Wednesday.

The reserve price will be part of the information memorandum aired in a public hearing before being published in the Royal Gazette by August.

The group selected an initial valuation for the 2.1-MHz spectrum of 6.44 billion baht for a 5-MHz slot. The working group proposed a reserve price at 70% of the valuation price.

Bidders have to place 1.35 billion baht as a minimum guarantee before joining the auction.

The auction will offer nine slots on the spectrum each containing 5 MHz of bandwidth. The event will feature simultaneous ascending-bid auctions. Each participant can gather a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz.

The NBTC also held a mock 3G auction yesterday. The event drew almost 100 participants from relevant parties, which allowed them to learn the rules and mechanisms before the real auction takes place. Twelve teams were grouped to learn the rules of the trial auction.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/299688/3g-reserve-price-is-b4-5bn

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Arecent lese-majeste case is raising questions about the appropriateness and spirit of Thailand’s computer crime law.

Content providers and website owners are crying foul over what they’re calling censorship of the internet and limitations on freedom of expression. They have raised concerns that the Computer Crime Act puts innocent web intermediaries at risk of jail time.

Legal experts have warned that it’s time for the Thai government to make amendments to the Computer Crime Act of 2007 to free the internet in the country.

The Criminal Court on May 31 handed down a verdict in the trial of lese majeste{aac} defendant and Prachatai webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiyaporn, finding her guilty of violating the Computer Crime Act.

Prachatai.com is a website committed to the “development of a progressive democratic society”.

The court found the webmaster guilty of violating Sections 14 and 15 of the Act. She received an eight-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 20,000 baht.

Ross LaJeunesse, head of public policy for Asia-Pacific at Google, called the Prachatai webmaster verdict a “serious threat” to the future of the internet in Thailand.

He said that if website owners are held responsible for what internet users post on their sites, telecom service providers might also have to take responsibility for what people say on the phone.

“The Act stifles innovation and deters investment in the country. If there were transparent rules about how to identify and react to unlawful content, Thailand would have a more free and open internet,” said Mr LaJeunesse.

According to an AFP news report, the EU delegation in Bangkok said in a statement that it had deep concerns about the damaging effects of the verdict on freedom of expression in Thailand, for it made intermediaries responsible for content posted by other internet users on websites.

Surangkana Wayuparp, director of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry, said that internet operators need not take responsibility for content transmitted through their websites.

But she said there would be a problem if the intermediaries are aware of the illegal content and neglect to do something about it.

“In the past, very few intermediaries have been sentenced to jail by courts,” said Mrs Surangkana.

She said freedom of expression is good, but it should not violate the rights of others.

The agency is considering adding notice and content removal procedures to the new Computer Crime Act to ease disputes. Details of amendments to the Act will be released by July, said Mrs Surangkana.

Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, the founder of Bangkok-based P&P Law firm, said the Prachatai webmaster verdict should not be considered a landmark case for the Computer Crime Act. He said there were about 10 cases in the past charging intermediaries like internet service providers with defamation.

Mr Paiboon said the Computer Crime Act should add notice and content removal procedures under Section 15.

The amendment could help demonstrate the intentions of webmasters, he said.

“The notice and removal procedures should be added to the terms of service. Web service providers need to provide hotline numbers to allow users or state officers to contact or send notices to them,” said Mr Paiboon.

Dhiraphol Suwanprateep, a partner at Baker & McKenzie, said it would be very difficult for web, network and content providers to take responsibility for all content due to the massive amount of information in cyberspace.

In Europe and the US, there are safe harbour principals saying intermediaries do not have legal liability for content that transmits over their networks or through their services.

“It is similar to telephone service providers. They do not need to take responsible for defamation occurring on their services,” said Mr Dhiraphol.

Poramet Minsiri, the founder of Sanook.com and Kapook.com, said the Act should have clear notice and removal procedures for intermediaries instead of relying on interpretation of the Act.

If web providers receive a notice from victims or officers, they need to take down the illegal content as fast as possible, ranging from 24 hours to two days to prove accountability and to demonstrate intentions.

Mr Poramet suggested the Thai Webmaster Association engage in “self regulation” and encourage better ethics.

This might help balance consumer rights and the need to protect service providers.

Sarinee Achavanuntaku, a well-known blogger, tweeted that the judgement in the Prachatai case reflected the problem with the Computer Crime Act. It showed that it doesn’t contain notice and removal procedures.

Thus, the intention of the web service in question depends on judicial discretion.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/299889/don-t-shoot-the-messenger

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