Hutchison Telecom has agreed to sell its telecommunications business in Thailand to state-owned operator CAT Telecom. Earlier, CAT's board approved the plan to buy the Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia unit, including the CDMA 2000 1X network in 25 provinces, The Nation reports citing CAT CEO Jirayuth Rungsrithong. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. CAT has already informed the ICT ministry about the agreement and will submit the plan to the National Economic and Social Development Board and the cabinet for approval. Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia is a 75:25 joint venture between Hutchison and CAT, which leases the CDMA network from BFKT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hutchison Telecom. CAT Telecom plans to combine its own CDMA network with the BFKT network to provide a nationwide service. Once the cabinet approves the plan, CAT will ask Hutchison Telecom to upgrade the network to EV-DO technology, in order to make it compatible with CAT's network. CAT will then launch nationwide services under a new brand, which is yet to be announced.

source:telecompaper