Thai Telecoms in the New Economy: Privatization & Liberalization

The economic crisis that ravaged Thailand in 1997 was an impetus that started the county down the difficult road of privatization and liberalization. The major issues involved in the transformation of the telecom industry from a state-run duopoly to a free market-based sector were daunting: the process for corporatization and the subsequent privatization of the state-owned telecom operators; the conversion of revenue-sharing agreements between private operators and the two state-run telecom agencies; the process of establishing a regulatory body to oversee privately-owned corporations; and finally the full liberalization of the sector by 2006, with the reduction or elimination of foreign ownership restrictions, under an agreement with the World Trade Organization. The stakes involved in the liberalization of the industry were high. Thailand's entry into e-commerce and the new economy would depend upon the new technologies and enhanced efficiencies that privatization and liberalization of the telecom sector might bring.