CAT Telecom

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CAT Telecom Public Company Limited is the Thai state-owned telecommunications company that owns Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure including its international gateways, satellite and submarine cable networks connections. Until recently, CAT had a monopoly on international telephony and CDMA mobile telephony. CAT partners with sister state-enterprise TOT to provide a GSM mobile service and with Hutchison to provide a CDMA mobile service.^[1] Corporatized in July 2003, CAT Telecom used to be known as the Communications Authority of Thailand. Its current Chairman of the Board of Directors is General Saprang Kalayanamitr, Assistant Secretary General of the Council for National Security. As of 31 October 2005, it had 5,752 employees.^[2]

[edit] Corporatization and the aftermath of the 2006 coup

Under the deposed government of Thaksin Shinawatra (2001-2006), CAT Telecom was corporatized and plans were under way to privatize a portion of the state enterprise through an IPO in the Stock Exchange of Thailand. These plans were cancelled after the Thaksin-government was overthrown by a coup in 19 September 2006. Soon after the coup, the junta of General Surayud Chulanont announced plans to merge CAT Telecom with rival state telecom enterprise TOT (formerly the Telephone Organization of Thailand).^[3]

The junta also appointed junta Assistant Secretary-General General Saprang Kalayanamitr to become the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of CAT Telecom and TOT. Saprang was accused by the founders of People's Television (PTV), a new satellite television station, of being behind CAT Telecom's refusal to grant an internet link from Bangkok to a satellite up-link station in Hong Kong. PTV was established by several ex-executives of the Thai Rak Thai party. CAT Telecom claimed that it never received PTV's application for internet access.^[4]

The junta also cancelled the Thaksin government's telecom excise tax policy. The Thaksin government imposed an excise tax on privately offered fixed and cellular services, and then allowed telecom companies to deduct the amount they paid in excise tax from concession fees they had to pay to state concession owners TOT and CAT Telecom. The total amount paid by the private telecom firms did not change. The Surayud government's excise tax cancellation meant that TOT and CAT Telecom would receive their full concession payments. However, TOT and CAT were then forced to increase their dividends to the Ministry of Finance to account for their increased income.^[5]