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(Bangkok Post via Newsedge) A unit of the fixed-line operator TT&T will start offering nationwide broadband Internet and fixed-line telephone services by the end of this year after being granted a license from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Triple T Broadband is the first private operator to obtain a Type 3 license, a permit for operating a network to provide commercial services to the public. The license enables it to provide the services nationwide including Bangkok. Currently, its parent company TT&T also provides such services, but only in the provinces, where it has a concession from TOT Plc.
Triple T Broadband will have to pay a license fee of 3% of its annual revenue. It is also required to pay a universal service obligation fee of 4 % of its revenue, collected by the NTC to ensure that rural areas have reasonable access to the telecom services enjoyed by the rest of the country.
The license is valid for 20 years.
Prachuab Tantinont, the president of Triple T Broadband, said the company would spend about 6 billion baht ($156 million) building a network in Bangkok and the provinces.
In the first phase, it plans a network for 100,000 numbers in the metropolitan area, and 200,000 in the provinces.
He said it would take Triple T Broadband eight months to build the network and the services could be provided in certain areas by the end of the year.
He added it would take the firm 3-4 years to offer full nationwide coverage.
c 2006 Bangkok Post
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