Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and rival Total Access Communication (DTAC) are considering setting up a joint tower company to share infrastructure ahead of the upcoming 3G auction in the country.
This is according to AIS CEO Wichian…
Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and rival Total Access Communication (DTAC) are considering setting up a joint tower company to share infrastructure ahead of the upcoming 3G auction in the country.
This is according to AIS CEO Wichian Mektrakarn, cited by local newspaper The Nation.
Such a partnership would allow both AIS, controlled by local conglomerate InTouch, and DTAC, owned by Norway’s Telenor, to cut costs, as 3G network rollout is expected to cost them up to Bt50bn (US$1.6bn) each in the first three years.
This would be on top of the Bt4.5bn (US$141m) that companies will have to spend to acquire a 5MHz slot of 3G spectrum.
Meanwhile, state-owned operator TOT is considering spinning off its tower assets in a separate company. TelecomFinance understands that a telecoms company could partner with TOT to take a 49% stake in the tower unit.
Malaysian telecoms group Axiata, which has been considering making some tower acquisitions in Asia, has been tipped as a potential investor.
In many countries, including India, the UK and the Netherlands, tower sharing is on the rise as a way of saving money while keeping control of the assets (see TelecomFinance magazine 203, July 2012).
