Thai state-run TOT to spend $865 mln on 3G

BANGKOK Aug 5 (Reuters) - Thailand's cabinet approved in principle on Tuesday a plan by state-owned telephone firm TOT PCL to invest 29 billion baht ($865 million) on developing third-generation mobile services, a government spokeswoman said.

TOT would develop 3G services on its 1900 MHz spectrum, with the first phase of commercial operations starting by 2009, deputy government spokeswoman Suparat Nakboonnam told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

TOT would seek 2.4 billion in loan financing and another 26.6 billion baht would be funded by government-to-government lending, she said.

The state company planned to upgrade its existing 500 base stations with 3G technology next year and install 5,220 new stations during 2009-2012, and expected to have at least 4 million 3G users within five years of launch, Suparat said.

Thai telecoms operators are competing to deploy new technologies, including 3G, to extract new revenues from a nearly saturated sector.

The top three private mobile phone operators are preparing to launch 3G services on their existing networks, but progress has been slow pending approval from the National Telecommunication Commission regulator to import equipment.

The three -- Advanced Info Service ADVA.BK, Total Access Communication DTAC.BK and True Move, a subsidiary of True Corp TRUE.BK -- have a combined market share of more than 90 percent of the Thai mobile market. ($1 = 33.53 Baht) (Reporting by Trisanat Kongkhunthian, writing by Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Ed Cropley)