(The Nation via NewsEdge) Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has opened up the market to phone-to-phone Internet calling services.
Sudharma Yoonaidharma, a member of the NTC, said Internet service provider licensees can now start offering a VoIP calling service from phone-to-phone.
While the NTC's Internet-service licensees can automatically start offering the new service right now, those with no Internet license must apply for one first before they can provide the service.
Earlier, the NTC permitted its Internet-service licensees to offer only VoIP calls from PC to PC and from PC to mobile or fixed telephone.
The NTC has allocated the prefix of "06" mainly for providing the VoIP service from phone to phone, including other new telecom-technology services, under its interim numbering plan.
The regulator is expected to introduce the official numbering plan next month.
The operators of the phone-to-phone VoIP service will also be subject to the NTC interconnection charge regime, which requires all telecom operators to share voice and data revenues between the networks involved in the calls on a fair basis.
Among the existing providers of VoIP services from PC to PC and PC to phone include CAT Telecom, True Internet and TT&T.
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