Hutch to launch Thai phone service
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Hong Kong-based Hutch put off the launch of its Thai service last year, missing out on strong growth
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BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) -- Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. will launch a new mobile phone service in Thailand on February 27, competing in one of Asia's fastest growing markets, a shareholder of the firm's Thai unit said.
Prajin Kecharananta, senior executive vice president of the state-owned Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), told reporters on Friday that Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia expected to attract around 100,000 subscribers in its first year of operations.
The company, 65-percent owned by Hutchison Wireless Multimedia Holding and 35-percent by CAT, will use a CDMA (code-division multiple access) network covering Bangkok and 25 of Thailand's 76 provinces. CAT will operate the network while Hutchison will be responsible for marketing the service.
Along with China and Korea, the Thai mobile market is one of Asia's fastest growing markets with about 18 million mobile subscribers, almost one third of the 63 million population. Analysts say
Launch postponed last year
Hutchison is not a major threat to existing operators because it postponed a planned launch last year, when Thailand notched up 120 percent net subscriber growth, and because it would lack full nationwide coverage.
The Thai market is 60-percent controlled by Advanced Info Service Plc., founded by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Advanced operates a GSM (global systems for mobile) network, which is common in Europe.
But French mobile phone group Orange SA is trying to muscle in on Thailand's mobile subscriber growth, grabbing a seven percent market share since its aggressive commercial launch in March last year.
CDMA is the dominant wireless technology used in U.S. networks and the second most common mobile phone technology in the world.
