Thailand to gain second iPhone carrier
updated 01:25 pm EST, Fri February 12, 2010
Third carrier considering options
Thailand will soon have a second iPhone carrier, says an industry source contacted by Reuters. The company is Total Access Communications, which is said to be planning a Thai iPhone launch within the space of a month. TAC is owned by the Norwegian corporation Telenor, which already sells the iPhone in several countries, mainly Scandinavian.
The current Thai iPhone carrier, True Move, has been selling the device since January 2009. Some 100,000 iPhones were sold in the country last year, and True Move hopes that another 120,000 will be bought in 2010. The carrier's position has been relatively secure, as a larger rival -- Advanced Info Service -- has so far failed to win a deal with Apple. The latter party says it is still contemplating ways of selling the iPhone.
The Thai market is unusual in the world in that a vast majority of people already have cellphones. The iPhone is said to be a way of wringing more profit from wireless customers, since data revenue can be added on top of static voice income.
