A Thai court dismissed separate cases filed by state-run TOT seeking unpaid access charges from AIS, True Move and dtac, the country’s three major mobile operators

In its ruling on 31 May, the Central Administrative Court said the access charge rate runs contrary to the National Broadband and Telecommunications Commission’s (NBTC) notification on interconnection and is no longer valid. It also noted operators are required to calculate the interconnection charge rates in accordance with the NBTC notification.

The claims filed by TOT in 2011 said the operators were required to pay access fees for the connection of their subscribers to TOT’s network. It was seeking THB246 billion ($7.77 billion) from dtac, including interest and VAT, and THB5.45 billion from market leader AIS, the operators said in separate filings to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. True Move did not disclose the amount in its statement.

Operators stopped paying TOT in 2006 after the telecoms regulator shifted from an access charge system to interconnection fees. The country’s private mobile operators all signed interconnection agreements, but TOT did not recognise the deals for many years.

TOT can appeal the cases with the Supreme Administrative Court within 30 days of the rulings.