The battle lines for cellular frequencies were drawn when True Move and Advanced Info Service (AIS) advised the telecom regulator about their intent to take over some bands that belong to CAT Telecom but are being used by their competitors.

According to True Move's letter sent to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on December 4, it wants to replace CAT in using certain bands on the 1800MHz and 800MHz spectra for commercial purposes.

The bands are being used by Total Access Communication  (DTAC) to offer cellular service under a concession from CAT.

True Move cited the NTC's regulations for frequency licence transfer and frequency sharing to stake claims on CAT's bands. Telecom operators are allowed to seek the NTC's permission either to transfer the rights and duties of a spectrum to other operators, or to use other operators' spectra in place of the existing users.

True Move has 12 million customers and has mention-ed many times that it wants additional frequencies to ease the congestion on its existing 12.5MHz of bandwidth in its 1,800MHz spectrum.

DTAC has become the target, since it has a large chunk of 50MHz bandwidth in the 1800MHz spectrum.

DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said last week that DTAC was making use of both the 1800MHz and 800MHz frequencies, and nobody could claim frequencies that were already occupied.

"I have had a discussion with CAT on this issue, and they have the same view as DTAC. If True or anyone else is trying to take parts of our frequencies, we will definitely defend our rights," he said.

The NTC has already made a public announcement of True Move's request and has asked affected cellular operators to share ideas and defend their frequency ownership rights by January 31. After that the NTC will take time to consider the cases before making a final decision on the matter.

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