Thailand - Key Statistics, Telecommunications Market, Regulatory and Infrastructure Overview

Synopsis

This report provides an overview of the telecommunications market in Thailand and the regulatory reform that is taking place, together with a selection of the most recent available key indicators for the sector. The overview also includes information on the national telecommunications infrastructure. The country’s telecom industry has undergone a period of strong growth which has started to moderate in the last few years. The mobile market has been a case in point growing by substantial amounts annually and passing the 100% penetration milestone. Growth slowed as the economy turned down in 2009 and by 2011 the annual growth rate in the mobile market was around 5%. While the country has gained considerably from a liberalised telecoms sector, there remained much work to be done on regulatory reform.

It was broadly perceived that the government was no longer giving telecoms the priority it needed. Sorting out the ongoing role of the two government-owned telcos, for example, remained a major challenge. The industry had been waiting on the establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, a new industry regulator. This finally happened in the second half of 2011.

Key developments:

The NBTC was established after a long delay. In an early decision the NBTC adopted a draft Frequency Master Plan. The NBTC was also reviewing foreign ownership rules for telecom operators. Social media continued to prove controversial in Thailand. Serious flooding in Bangkok was hitting the national economy. The rollout of 3G services was also impacted by the floods.

Companies covered in this report include:

TOT Corp; CAT; True Corp; True Move; TT&T; AIS; DTAC; Hutchison CAT.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Key statistics
• 3. Country overview
  • 3.1 Background
  • 3.2 Economy
    • 3.2.1 Severe flooding in 2011
• 4. Thailand’s telecom market
  • 4.1 Overview
  • 4.2 Background
  • 4.3 Political turmoil and its impact on the telecom sector
  • 4.4 Government intervention
• 5. Regulatory environment
  • 5.1 Regulatory reform
    • 5.1.1 Background
    • 5.1.2 Telecommunications Act 2001
    • 5.1.3 Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT)
  • 5.2 Regulator
    • 5.2.1 National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
    • 5.2.2 National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)
    • 5.2.3 Five-year Master Plan
    • 5.2.4 Frequency master plan
  • 5.3 Regulatory developments
    • 5.3.1 Regulatory disputes
    • 5.3.2 Concession conversion
    • 5.3.3 Taxation
    • 5.3.4 Privatisation
    • 5.3.5 Foreign ownership
    • 5.3.6 Interconnection charges
    • 5.3.7 National numbering scheme
    • 5.3.8 Internet gateways
    • 5.3.9 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
    • 5.3.10 Social media
  • 5.4 Regulatory developments
    • 5.4.1 Third generation (3G) mobile licences
    • 5.4.2 WiMAX
    • 5.4.3 Registration of prepaid mobile services
  • 5.5 Regulatory disputes
• 6. Telecommunications infrastructure
  • 6.1 National telecom network
    • 6.1.1 Overview
• 7. Fixed-line network
  • 7.1 Background
  • 7.2 Statistics
  • 7.3 Forecasts – fixed-line subscribers – 2015; 2020
  • 7.4 Next Generation Network (NGN)
    • 7.4.1 Public payphones
  • 7.5 International infrastructure
    • 7.5.1 Submarine cable networks
    • 7.5.2 Submarine cable systems under construction
    • 7.5.3 Submarine cable outages
    • 7.5.4 Satellite networks
• 8. Notes on scenario forecasts
• 9. Related reports

• Table 1 – Country statistics – 2011
• Table 2 – Telephone network statistics – 2010
• Table 3 – Internet user statistics – 2010
• Table 4 – Broadband statistics – 2010
• Table 5 – Mobile statistics – June 2011
• Table 6 – National telecommunications authorities
• Table 7 – Thailand’s real GDP growth rate – 2006 - 2011
• Table 7 – Fixed lines and teledensity – 1995 - 2012
• Table 8 – Fixed-line subscribers by operator – 2008; 2010
• Table 9 – Fixed-line subscribers – metro vs provincial – 2010
• Table 10 – Forecast fixed-line subscribers and penetration rate – 2015; 2020
• Table 11 – Public payphones in service – 2004 - 2010
• Table 12 – Public payphones by provider – 2009

• Chart 1 – Fixed and mobile subscribers – 1999 - 2010

• Exhibit 1 – Thailand’s Foreign Ownership legislation for telecom sector
• Exhibit 2 – Submarine cable networks - 2011
• Exhibit 3 – Thaicom’s satellite network – 2011