While BlackBerrys and iPhones are fast becoming must-have accessories for many urban Thais, mobile Internet in the kingdom is still struggling to get out of the slow lane. A long-running business tussle means that as other nations -- including impoverished Laos -- move to introduce faster 4G technology, Thailand has yet to fully roll out 3G, a decade after it was first launched in Japan. Third-generation -- 3G -- technology allows mobile phone users to surf the Internet and download music and videos, and Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia not to have full 3G apart from military-dominated Myanmar. "I bought this phone about three years ago because I thought I could use 3G but it has taken me three years to be able to actually use (the service)," said 25-year-old Bangkok resident Tiabtawan Limjittrakorn. In contrast Cambodia has had 3G network since 2006, enabling mobile users there to access online content at a faster pace than their Thai neighbours. A year ago a Thai court halted a 3G licence auction at the last minute after state-owned giant CAT argued that then-regulator the National Telecommunications Commission, had no authority to conduct the bidding. The next attempt is expected in 2012. CAT and TOT, another state-owned company, have lucrative rights to grant concessions for second-generation services and face a loss in revenue should operators acquire 3G licences and switch over to the new technology. There is some limited coverage in some areas as the three major Thai telecoms operators -- Advanced Info Service (AIS), Dtac and True -- have side-stepped the licence issue by upgrading network data transmission speeds, building their own phone masts and providing 3G free of charge. Another consortium of firms offers pockets of high speed coverage, although outside of these they have no signal at all.
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