ASIA : BWCS : TOT Corp, the Thai government-owned telecoms company, is reportedly in talks with two Japanese operators in a bid to speed up its planned 3G launch. The company, which is to be privatised in October of this year, is keen to show that it is moving forward on new technologies and this is seen as the quickest way to boost that perception.

While the government has refused to officially name the two possible partners a company insider quoted by Reuters alleged they are NTT DoCoMo and KDDI, Japan’s two largest mobile operators.

If a partnership does evolve it is likely to see one or other of the Japanese carriers take a stake in TOT’s 58% owned mobile company ACT Mobile. The TOT sell off has been delayed several times, pending progress on regulatory reforms that involve the removal of revenue sharing deals between public and private companies.

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