DTAC, Sell, iPhone, Thailand,, AIS, Predicts, Mobile, Data, Boom

Reuters has rumours that AIS DTAC will be selling the iPhone, which is currently available only on True Move.

There is no official quote from the operator, who declined to comment, though the article quotes an unnamed industry source who claims.

“They have prepared some work on websites and it should be for sale within one month from now.”

Adding AIS DTAC as an operator would give more choice to potential iPhone users in Thailand and help the device compete against the BlackBerry range, which offers far more choice and freedom to consumers. AIS is well known for its mobile data service, a good fit for iPhone.

The same article suggests AIS (whose excellent data service would be a good fit) has seen talks break down with Apple over the iPhone.

Bigger rival Advanced Info Service has said it was still exploring ways to offer iPhone in the Thai market after failing to reach a deal with Apple.

Could this be the beginning of competitive iPhone pricing in Thailand?

Fellow news-wire Dow Jones has covered AIS (article via Total Telecom) with the company claiming revenue from mobile data services will rise by 20% this year.

However AIS has blamed recently posted lower than expected financial results on “the aftermath impact from (the) airport seizure at the end of 2008 and the political riot in April 2009 (which) continued to dampen consumer’s sentiment, spending and tourist arrivals.”

Dow Jones includes a couple of noteworthy comments about the mobile industry in Thailand.

“Thailand’s mobile phone market is saturated, and with growth of voice calls stagnant private operators are ramping up efforts to attract subscribers to use their handsets to access data content, which attract higher revenue compared to telephone calls. An increasing number of Thais are jumping online with their phones because of the rapidly increasing popularity of mobile networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.”

“Thailand lags the rest of Southeast Asia in adopting 3G services. The sale of 3G licenses has suffered multiple delays because of the absence of another independent body to regulate broadcasting frequencies, along with frequent changes in government. The industry had been hoped the auction would take place in the current quarter, but it has now been delayed indefinitely.”

These two statements cover two of the most pressing issue in Thai telecoms right now: the adoption of mobile internet (which AIS predictes will grow 50% to 18 million this year) and the ongoing and uncertain wait for full 3G telecoms in the country.

UPDATE: rumours of AIS and iPhone have been rife for a few weeks with Engadget revealing talks between the two back in late January. [Via iPhoneAsia]

UPDATE 2: my Saturday state of mind saw me get this totally wrong, DTAC is the one rumoured to have the contract – changes made accordingly.

UPDATE 3: Bangkok Post has confirmed that DTAC will offer iPhone and iPhone 3GS in Thailand while AIS confirms it is still in talks with Apple.

Image via KevinMD.com