A group of four Thai MVNOs have banded together to increase their bargaining power with network enabler CAT Telecom.
I-Mobile Plus, The WhiteSpace, 168 Communication and Myworld 3G - all four of the companies providing mobile services as MVNOs over CAT's Network - have jointly formed the Thailand MVNO Club, the Bangkok Post reported.
The club plans to exercise collective bargaining in any negotiations with authorities over policies and regulations, and to reduce operating costs via sharing back-office functions including IT processing and accounting systems.
The chairman of the new club, Watchai Vilailuck, said even though Thailand's mobile penetration is reached a mature rate of 145%, the MVNOs believe there is still room to grow in untapped segments, particularly in the rural market.
Vilailuck is also president of I-Mobile parent company Samart Corporation.
According to the report, the initiative has also been pursued based on the belief that while 20 companies have been granted MVNO licenses by regulator NBTC, only a few can survive.
CAT is meanwhile pursuing partnerships with three more MVNOs including supermarket chain Tesco Lotus.