Digital phone settles dispute with DTAC
By Sirivish Toomgum
The Nation

Digital Phone (DPC), a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service (AIS), yesterday paid almost Bt3 billion plus value-added tax to Total Access Communication (DTAC) to settle their dispute over overdue roaming fees.

DTAC said both had signed the agreement yesterday for an arbitration panel to settle all disputes involving overdue roaming fees and pending claims between the two parties.

DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said his company would spend part of the money gained on rolling out its third-generation mobile broadband network.

DTAC filed the case with four arbitration panels to claim for two outstanding instalments in amounts of more than US$40 million and $46 million (Bt1.3 billion and Bt1.49 billion) respectively from DPC.

One of the panels ruled on March 25 that DPC must pay DTAC 80 per cent of the claimed amounts, totalling more than $32.5 million and more than $37.3 million plus 9.5-per-cent interest per annum from October 1, 2004, and October 1, 2005, respectively.

DTAC entered into a domestic roaming agreement with DPC in 1996, when Samart still owned DPC.

The agreement involved DPC roaming on DTAC's nationwide network and using a portion of its spectrum to provide cellular service.

Shin Corp, AIS's parent company, took over DPC in 2000. DPC stopped paying DTAC in 2002, although the contract ended in 2005.