AIS in Talks with Apple to Bring iPhone to Thailand

Thai mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), and its parent company, SingTel, are negotiating with Apple to bring the popular iPhone handset to Thailand.

"We are negotiating on details, including a revenue sharing standard. Apple needs a local operator to promote iPhone," confirmed AIS' assistant vice president of wireless business marketing, Prattana Leelapanang.

Apple's existing revenue sharing model is unlikely to work in Thailand, according to AIS' Chief Marketing Officer, Sanchai Thiewprasertkul, meaning that negotiations with Apple will likely prove complicated. Some 90% of Thai mobile phone customers use prepaid airtime, a different situation from many European and North American markets where postpaid services dominate.

Thousands of iPhone's have already been 'smuggled' into Thailand, where they are being sold on the black market for about 19,000 Thai Baht.

The Apple iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply pointing your finger at a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log. And it lets you select and listen to voice-mail messages in whatever order you want, just like email.