National Telecom (NT) is crafting a niche as an infrastructure-sharing provider, seeking partnerships to develop sustainable revenue streams in the future as its spectrum-sharing contracts with three major mobile operators are slated to expire in 2025.
NT was established in January last year through the merger of CAT Telecom and TOT.
To mark its one-year anniversary on Jan 7, the firm launched "nt" commercial brand with tag line "Next, through Technology".
The company also unveiled brand DNA called "I AM NT", an abbreviation for Innovation, Agility, Momentum, Nation-oriented and Trust.
"Creating added value for our existing infrastructure and providing specific services in selected sectors with partners will be the flagship NT operations," NT acting president Gp Capt Somsak Khaosuwan told the Bangkok Post.
NT's assets comprise 25,000 telecom towers, nine routes of submarine cables, total spectrum of 600 megahertz of bandwidth on six spectrum ranges, 4,000 kilometres of cable conduits, 4 million fibre-optics cores and 13 data centres and international call services.
It is in charge of the operation of a fixed broadband network covering 24,700 villages under a government project.
"The company plans to capitalise on the real value of its assets using proper business models," said Gp Capt Somsak.
He said NT has no intention of competing with major players, particularly on mobile business, but will focus on selected sectors.
NT holds 20MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz spectrum range secured through a 2020 auction by CAT Telecom, as well as 400MHz of bandwidth on the 26-gigahertz range held by TOT.
Gp Capt Somsak said the company aims to provide infrastructure-sharing services to operators to support effective cost management.
NT also wants to take on some end-user services by capitalising on its existing networks, such as the Net Pracharat fixed broadband scheme targeting remote areas.
He said the firm will not make an aggressive investment or use marketing campaigns, rather focusing on infrastructure-sharing approaches and last-mile telecom networks for other operators.
NEW TALKS BEGIN
NT has been in talks with Advanced Info Service (AIS) on a new partnership deal that would see the country's biggest mobile operator by subscriber base purchase 10MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz range from NT.
Another 10MHz of bandwidth held by NT is targeted for joint development by NT and AIS for mutual benefits of both companies.
There are other cooperation options on the table, including a joint venture that could develop their existing businesses together, such as fixed broadband networks, said Gp Capt Somsak.
"If NT and AIS join forces in terms of fixed broadband networks, the collaboration would be the largest provider of fixed broadband service in the country," he said.
NT also opened the door for talks with True Corporation, another major carrier, to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, said Gp Capt Somsak. All the talks are expected to wrap up by the first quarter this year.
The move is facilitated by a royal decree that supports the convergence of technologies for the benefit of the country, which was put into effect late last year.
The decree provides a more flexible criteria for operators to apply for additional business licences and transfer spectrum licences, as well as obtain spectrum licences via other methods besides holding auctions.
NT management is studying all angles of the decree, he said.
5G SHUFFLE
NT has yet to operate 5G service on its own because of cost concerns.
A 5G business proposal involving capital expenditure of 20-30 billion baht and operation expense of 40-50 billion put forth by NT management has failed to get a nod from the board.
NT has entered into partnership deals with The WhiteSpace, a mobile virtual network operator under the Penguin brand, and Taiwan-based telecom giant Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to provide 5G enterprise private networks through NT's 26GHz spectrum range.
"Providing 5G services through partnership, such as the 26GHz spectrum with CHT and Penguin, or other partnership deals via the 700MHz band, are moves we could go for," said Gp Capt Somsak.
At present, AIS holds a combined 1,450MHz of spectrum bandwidth in total, compared with 1,020MHz held by True and 330MHz by Total Access Communication (DTAC).
However, in terms of the 700MHz range, AIS holds 30MHz of bandwidth, while True and DTAC hold 20MHz of bandwidth each.
The planned merger of DTAC and True would give the new combined entity 40MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz range, exceeding the capacity held by AIS.
A telecom veteran who requested anonymity pointed out AIS's move to secure another 10MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz spectrum is to ensure its competitiveness against the merged entity.
NT also wants AIS to jointly develop the remaining 10MHz of bandwidth on 700MHz held by NT, said the veteran.
BULKY STRUCTURE
NT has almost 18,000 employees and cash flow of 100 billion baht.
An NT board source who requested anonymity said the company may need to downsize its structure, cutting 6,000 staff over the next few years through retirement incentive programmes.
As a commercial procurement regulation governing NT came into effect in the middle of last year, almost six months after its establishment, NT just started its investment and spending in the second half of last year.
NT projects 3.1 billion baht in net profit last year, driven by earnings from its universal obligation service project, which supports internet networks for people in remote areas.
In 2021, the company was estimated to book revenue of 98.2 billion baht while its expenses, excluding early retirement programmes, reached 96 billion.
NT is especially keen to find sustainable revenue streams after 2025, when its deals on spectrum usage with other operators expire.
The partnership deals include the 2100MHz spectrum range used by AIS and the 2300MHz range used by DTAC, both through TOT partnership contracts.
True Move H Universal Communication also uses the 850MHz spectrum under a CAT Telecom partnership contract.
The deals generated up to 10 billion baht per year in revenue for both CAT Telecom and TOT for years before the two merged into NT.
After 2025, NT will hold only the 700MHz and 26GHz spectrum ranges, as well as other assets such as telecom towers.
According to Gp Capt Somsak, NT wants to end the uncertainty related to its revenue sources this year by developing a related supply chain system before the critical time comes.
"The investment proportion for new infrastructure will be less than before, while innovation and digital platforms will be increasingly developed," he said.
