Thai telco TrueMove has changed its tone regarding its embattled 3G network that has been declared illegal by numerous government watchdogs, and now has pledged to fight to the very end through the courts.
TrueMove managing director Supachai Chearavanont announced that his company was interested in going for 15 MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum in the 17 October auction and has put aside 13.5 billion baht ($430 million) for the licence fee.
Supachai urged the regulator to defer payment to five years instead of three as he said TrueMove would need to find a strategic partner or financing for a three year timeframe.
The licences are widely expected to go for the reserve price as all of Thailand’s three private sector telcos have now come out saying that they are content with 15 MHz each out of the 45 MHz up for auction.
However, with regard to regulatory orders for TrueMove and partner state-owned telco CAT Telecom to address six points in their 3G contract, Supachai said that it was just a “small misunderstanding” by certain people. He said that in any case, the only one with the power to rescind the contract would be the courts.
Supachai also called for clarity on his current 2G network with the concession ending in September 2013 and if he can port the 18 million users to TrueMove H 3G.