Thailand's mobile operators have agreed to implement per-second billing from March, and negotiated with regulator NBTC on a set of charging guidelines.
AIS, Dtac, True, TOT and CAT Telecom have agreed that all call packages launched after March 1 will bill on a per-second basis, the Nationrevealed.
The operators have also agreed that the average charge for a 2G service must not exceed .99 baht ($0.03) per minute, and the average charge for 3G over 2.1-GHz spectrum must not be higher than 0.84 baht per minute.
Existing subscribers not bound to a contract which stipulates a minimum term limit will be able to switch to the per-second packages free of charge.
The NBTC has been pushing for operators to implement per-second billing for some time. Last month, Thailand's National Reform Council ramped up the pressure on operators to make the change.
As part of the transition, the NBTC plans to lower the current interconnection rate, currently set at 0.45 baht per minute.
Transitioning to per-second billing is expected to save Thailand's mobile subscribers a combined 4.5 billion baht per month.