Thai newspaper The Nation reported that operator CAT Telecom has suspended a planned HSPA network expansion being undertaken in partnership with peer True, pending a probe of the legality of the deal.

The move was said to be in-line with a suggestion from the country’s National Social and Economic Development Board, whose approval CAT had sought.

CAT and True have a deal in place to collaborate on the provision of 3G services, with CAT leasing capacity from a subsidiary of True for sale under its own brand. CAT has also leased some capacity to True’s subsidiaries, the paper said.

Separately, the Bangkok Post noted that internal auditors from CAT have complained about True’s policy of blocking them from monitoring the management of 3G network operations under the joint venture agreement.

CAT had said that BFKT, a company owned by Real Future, which is in turn a subsidiary of True, had agreed that it would provide network infrastructure which would only be used with CAT-owned frequencies over a 14-year period.

CAT said that even though BFKT is operating the equipment, it still owns the right of frequency management and control.

This follows a report that the National Anti-Corruption Commission is looking at whether CAT has the authority to let BFKT manage its spectrum on its behalf, when the licence terms state that owners must do the management themselves.