Thai Telecom Outages Expose Duopoly Flaws, Experts Call for Fair Competition

Expert warns that market consolidation is compromising service quality and threatening digital economy goals, urges regulator to toughen penalties and government to open market

 

A massive network failure by True Corporation that left millions of users without service has reignited concerns about Thailand's increasingly concentrated telecommunications market, with experts warning that the reduction to just two major operators is compromising service quality and threatening the country's digital economy ambitions.

 

The nationwide outage, which began around 10:00 AM Thursday and lasted several hours, drew widespread criticism on social media and highlighted systemic issues that have emerged following recent industry consolidations, according to Dr Somkiat Tangkitvanich, President of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).

 

Dr Somkiat pointed to troubling data showing that service quality problems have increased following the True-Dtac and AIS-3BB mergers.

 

A recent survey by the Foundation for Consumers found that over 81% of users experienced network issues in the past six months, with companies involved in mergers showing the highest frequency of problems.

 



 


"When we examine the current situation after the mergers in Thailand, we find that problems related to quality and the frequency of outages have increased, affecting both general consumers and the business sector," Dr Somkiat stated.


 

The consequences extend far beyond individual inconvenience. Business interruptions from prolonged outages cause significant economic damage, while the duopoly structure threatens Thailand's digital transformation goals.

 


"A telecom market with only two operators hinders Thailand's development towards a digital economy, which relies on a knowledge base, IT systems, and the Internet of Things for industrial development, smart agriculture, and various services," he explained.


  

Dr Somkiat urged the government to accelerate market liberalization, specifically suggesting opening services to US companies.

 

This move could foster competition, reduce consumer costs, and provide leverage in trade negotiations with the US, particularly as Thailand faces potential retaliatory tariffs when its 90-day deferral expires in early July.

 

He also called for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to strengthen oversight and implement penalty systems similar to international standards. He cited several precedents:


Australia fined Optus A$12 million (approximately 250 million baht) in 2022 for failing to provide emergency services during a nationwide outage
The UK fined BT £17.5 million (approximately 825 million baht) in 2018 for system failures that disrupted emergency calls
Charter Communications paid US$15 million (approximately 500 million baht) in the US for network outage violations


 


"To my knowledge, the NBTC in Thailand has issued warnings but has not imposed similar fines on service providers," Dr Somkiat noted.
 
 



 

 

True's Response Falls Short of Customer Expectations

True Corporation issued an apology Thursday evening, confirming that services were restored after progressive repairs beginning at 11:30 AM.

 

The company attributed the outage to an electrical system malfunction at a core network center and announced compensation of 10GB free data and 100 minutes of free calls, valid for 24 hours.

 

However, customer response was overwhelmingly negative, with many questioning the adequacy of the compensation given the scale of business losses incurred.

 

"The compensation misses the point," wrote one user on TrueMove H's Facebook page. "Some people lost hundreds of thousands in revenue, but you compensate with just 10GB of data for 24 hours."

 

Business customers were particularly critical, with one warehouse operator calculating losses of 301,532 baht and warning of long-term damage as customers might switch to competitors.

 

"Can 10GB of free data and 100 minutes of free calls for 24 hours compensate for the 301,532 baht our warehouse lost?" the customer wrote. "You're a business too, why such compensation?"

 



 

 

Looking Forward

The incident has raised fundamental questions about Thailand's telecommunications infrastructure and regulatory framework.

 

Dr Somkiat emphasized the need for greater transparency, including requirements for operators to publish signal strength maps and communicate clearly about outage causes and resolution timelines.

 


"The NBTC must monitor and require operators to publicly report their compliance with service quality standards and promptly rectify any non-compliance," he said. "These measures will protect consumers and incentivize operators to enhance service reliability."


 

As Thailand pursues its digital economy goals, the recent outage serves as a stark reminder of the risks posed by market concentration and the urgent need for regulatory reform to ensure robust, competitive telecommunications infrastructure.

(2025/05/23-00:00)