• 
• 

Published on April 10, 2008

In a bid to keep up with technology trends, Total Access Communications (DTAC) has set up "Next DTAC", a business unit which will act as a scrutiniser of new technologies.

Set up in September, the Next DTAC division will focus on new technology and business areas with the objective of developing and acquiring them.

Amarit Sukhavanij, DTAC's senior vice president and head of Next DTAC, said the division would research the potential in such technologies and generate reports for the company's executives.

Next DTAC will study trends from a potential technology aspect as well as a business opportunity aspect.

Within potential technologies, the division is now looking at three technologies: fixed broadband, high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) and WiMAX.

It is in the process of conducting a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis of each technology as well as its suitability for business applications.

"The trend in the global market is for a mobile-phone operator to expand beyond providing mobile services. The market as well as the way of conducting business is undergoing a change that is driven by technology. DTAC has to be ready and that is why we have to set up this division," Amarit said.

As far as the business opportunity aspect is concerned, the division plays the role of strategic thinker and dealmaker.

Within a month of being set up, the division helped the company acquire PaySbuy, an e-payment portal, buying a holding of 98 per cent of the company's stock.

"Mobile payment is an integral part of the company's direction. That business also involves new technology that we don't want to develop from scratch. Hence, the acquisition was necessary," Amarit said.

The company has also bought a 51-per-cent stake in a new mobile software company called Crie, formerly known as Createch. The company was set up by a group of young developers who have been winning the DTAC's D Juice Dot Award for the past few years. Crie will develop 3G mobile applications for DTAC.

"There are two more companies that DTAC is working toward acquiring through a 51-per-cent buyout. Both are content providers and we expect to execute these deals within this quarter," Amarit said.

Next DTAC will not be a revenue-generating division, but will be instrumental in sniffing out new business opportunities and investigating new technologies.

It will then act as a go-between for other business units and facilitate acquisitions.

"We are ready to provide new applications and services on the 3G network, HSDPA and WiMAX. We can provide seamless connectivity among different types of communication networks. The new services will be available within a year after getting the licence," Amarit added.

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation