It also remains to be seen if the applications of about 800,000 subscribers of AIS and Total Access Communication (DTAC) filed at 7-Eleven stores nationwide to have their mobile phone number ported to True Corp’s networks will be processed expeditiously, as ordered by the National Broadcasting and Telecommun-ications Commission last week.

So far their requests for porting service are still pending.

AIS and DTAC might consider appealing to the watchdog the NBTC orders to quickly port these mobile phone numbers to True’s networks within three days from last Wednesday. AIS and DTAC can lodge the appeal within 15 days.

AIS will hold a press conference today to report that its 2G subscribers would not any suffer service disruption after the NBTC granted the 900MHz licence to True Move H Universal Communication (TUC).

This follows the Telecom Committee’s schedule to consider granting the licence to TUC today. Once TUC picks up the licence, AIS has to switch off its 900MHz cellular service. According to the NBTC, the licence will go into effect after midnight tomorrow.

Last Friday TUC informed the NBTC that it will offer its 900MHz spectrum to AIS free of charge for three months for AIS’ 2G customers to use after the service switch-off. AIS has yet to respond to the offer.

Ways to prevent service disruption

Early last week the regulator called meetings with AIS, TOT and TUC to seek ways to prevent service disruption to the 400,000 AIS 2G customers who risk disconnection after the service shutdown.

However, AIS and TUC declined to agree with each other’s proposal. An NBTC source said the refusals were due to a sense of dignity. Initially TUC, a 900MHZ licence winner, offered to let AIS use its 900MHz in return for paying a fee of Bt450 million a month.

AIS has insisted on using the band of the other 900MHZ winner, Jas Mobile Broadband, to serve about 400,000 of its 2G customers.

It will also roam 8 million 2G customers of its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network on the 1800MHz band of DTAC.

AIS and DTAC have already reached an agreement on this roaming deal. The NBTC rejects AIS’ idea of using Jas’ band, saying the band should be kept for Jas.

The battle between AIS and DTAC on one side against True started in February when True launched a campaign to mainly lure 2G-900MHz subscribers from AIS by allowing them to apply for porting their mobile phone numbers at 7-Eleven’s nationwide branch network.

AIS and DTAC criticised the campaign for allegedly not complying with the NBTC’s rules, but the watchdog later ruled that the campaign complies with its rules.

According to the NBTC, True gained the most new users from mobile number porting last year, followed by AIS and DTAC.