News Forum - true-dtac merger will increase mobile tariffs by 240%, warns watchdog

[Thaiger]

In a controversial move, Thailand’s telecom regulator has approved the merging of two key mobile operators in Thailand: true and dtac. A consumer watchdog says the five-member committee “failed to use its authority to protect the public interest” by turning the market into a duopoly with reigning operator AIS. After an 11-hour meeting, the five-member board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) voted 3:5 to “acknowledge” the merger, despite fierce opposition from consumer groups, politicians, industry experts, and competitors. The decision will leave Thailand with only two key operators, the merger and AIS, sparking concerns that it will […]

The story true-dtac merger will increase mobile tariffs by 240%, warns watchdog as seen on Thaiger News.

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[HolyCowCm]

Have to agree that one family corp is getting away with monopoly control and this buy out should never ever have been let to go forward. They should never have ever been allowed to buy Makro and for the next part if Makro is in line then certainly not Tesco Lotus. Family dating back and laying in bed with the CPP, so nothing good can come from them except wanting full control.

[Soidog]

This has taken a while. The “negotiations” and supplying of offshore bank details must have taken a little longer than expected. Never mind, got there in the end.  This merger only benefits True and Telenor. Certainly not the consumer. 
 

Im not sure what the restrictions of this merger are, but there should have been some form of CPI minus x% calculation placed on products.  From experience of U.K. mobile mergers they also should ensure network coverage is not affected. Radio Access Network or RAN costs will drive them to reduce network coverage. 

[palooka]

15 minutes ago, Soidog said:

This has taken a while. The “negotiations” and supplying of offshore bank details must have taken a little longer than expected. Never mind, got there in the end.  This merger only benefits True and Telenor. Certainly not the consumer. 
 

Im not sure what the restrictions of this merger are, but there should have been some form of CPI minus x% calculation placed on products.  From experience of U.K. mobile mergers they also should ensure network coverage is not affected. Radio Access Network or RAN costs will drive them to reduce network coverage. 

Western standards in Thailand

[Soidog]

7 minutes ago, palooka said:

Western standards in Thailand

Well you raise an interesting point. Telenor is a Norwegian Telco and I sincerely hope it is holding itself to the same standards required of it in Norway. Actually my experience of Telenor is very good, but I do see western companies dropping their standard when they operate in SE Asia. The former Makro owner who was French being one example. 

[Guest1]

4 hours ago, Thaiger said:

the five-member board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) voted 3:5

5 people vote 3:5? Can someone change the 5 to a 2, plz?

[palooka]

Just now, Soidog said:

Well you raise an interesting point. Telenor is a Norwegian Telco and I sincerely hope it is holding itself to the same standards required of it in Norway. Actually my experience of Telenor is very good, but I do see western companies dropping their standard when they operate in SE Asia. The former Makro owner who was French being one example. 

Think they all come here with the right mental attitude but get corrupted very quickly, cutting costs is usually the first, to regain capital invested, then they discover it is disney land with no rules and the rot sets in appeasing the bosses back home with how great their returns on investment are.  Throw in performance bonuses based on head office standards in a western country and they laugh all the way to the bank.

[BigHewer]

Consolidation can only be bad news for fees and prices. A duopoly can easily morph into veiled price collusion.

Hopefully top dog AIS will treat this as a threat rather than an “opportunity” and compete accordingly. 

[ThaiFoodGuy]

3 hours ago, BigHewer said:

A duopoly can easily morph veiled price collusion.

That's what we've got here in Canada. Two major providers, Bell and Rogers, and any other company that comes along MUST piggyback on either the Bell network or the Rogers network. Both companies exclusively own all of the cell towers and satellites, and the government won't approve the construction or launch of any new ones.

The exorbitantly high cost of cell phone and internet service has prompted calls from politicians and regulators to limit what everyone knows is price fixing, in clear violation of the Consumer Protection Act, but there is literally nothing anyone can do. Bell and Rogers keep saying oh nothing to see here, we're providing the best service for the best price, no price fixing or collusion, but we all know that's exactly what's happening. Both companies lobby the shit out of politicians to the tune of millions annually, so we'll never even campaign our way out of it.

For example, my current cost of internet (60 mbps) and TV (basic cable) from Bell is $110 CDN per month. Cell service from Rogers is currently $90 CDN per month for unlimited national calls and 30 GB of data, and that's on a corporate plan. Pathetic.

[Artemis080]

10 hours ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

For example, my current cost of internet (60 mbps) and TV (basic cable) from Bell is $110 CDN per month. Cell service from Rogers is currently $90 CDN per month for unlimited national calls and 30 GB of data, and that's on a corporate plan. Pathetic.

Canada is truly horrible when it comes to cell phone and internet. It's better value for me to roam on AIS than get a cell plan when I am there for work. How is that right?

[BigHewer]

14 hours ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

For example, my current cost of internet (60 mbps) and TV (basic cable) from Bell is $110 CDN per month. Cell service from Rogers is currently $90 CDN per month for unlimited national calls and 30 GB of data, and that's on a corporate plan. Pathetic.

Here in Japan, the difference between cable and cell service is stark. For cable, one company is granted a monopoly in each municipal district and we therefore roughly pay the same as what you’re paying there; but the mobile phone market is flooded with competition. I pay USD 22 per month for 20GB of data (and that’s still not the cheapest).

 A cautionary tale for Thailand moving forward.

[JamesR]

I am off to Thailand soon for a year.

What is the cheapest way to get a mobile contract with unlimited data so I can use it to watch Netflix etc? (Phuket).

Is Thailand currently still 4G or have places like Phuket now been upgraded to 5G?

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

I am off to Thailand soon for a year.

What is the cheapest way to get a mobile contract with unlimited data so I can use it to watch Netflix etc? (Phuket).

Is Thailand currently still 4G or have places like Phuket now been upgraded to 5G?

Others may know better mate. But I think an unlimited 5G package would be more expensive than getting broadband installed (assuming you are staying in the same place?). If not, then unlimited 5G is 1,699 with AIS. Or 899 baht for 80Gb 5G. I can’t see an unlimited 4G package with AIS. They are all listed as 4G/3G. They run on 4G but drop back to 3G after a 4G allowance. You won’t stream well in 3G.

You may also need to run with a VPN as most mobile operators detect you are video streaming and will throttle back your service from time to time. That’s also the case with some internet providers