Advanced Info Service (AIS), the country's mobile market leader in terms of subscriber base, has expressed opposition to the planned merger of its rivals True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC), saying the deal would diminish the price war and free competition in the segment.
The firm also pointed to a new challenge to the deal, saying the merger would breach a spectrum cap rule imposed by the regulator on carriers during the past spectrum auctions as the newly merged firm would own a combined spectrum bandwidth per operator exceeding the regulator's cap.
AIS's viewpoints were spelled out at a hearing forum organised by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday to gather opinions from those operating in related industries.
