DTAC decided to take this action after a study in Kanchanaburi revealed that some youngsters were turning to loan sharks for money to refill their prepaid phone cards.
Sigve Brekke, co-chief executive officer of DTAC, said: "We are very concerned about overspending by youths on pre-paid services and, as we are one of the pre-paid operators, we plan to educate teenagers through our new TVC."
Due to stiff competition in the market with 23 million cellular phone users, the prices have gone down dramatically, making it affordable for teens and those living on marginal incomes to use cell phones. "The price cuts have turned mobile phone usage into a double edged sword," added Brekke
DTAC's latest initiative follows efforts it kicked off early this year to court less-frequent users with the launch of Baby SIM -- low-value cards with longer validity periods -- which are targeted at those who receive more calls than they make (Media, February 13). "Our new product is mainly for senior citizens, kids, teenagers and other light users who use their mobile phones mostly to receive calls." Baby SIM's main features include longer validity every time the consumer refills. "Within a few days of its introduction, Baby SIM has become our hottest-selling item, surpassing the original Happy Kit," said Brekke.
He discounted the impact of the upcoming campaign on DTAC's bottomline. "I don't think that less profligate use by teenagers will hurt our profits as we hope to rope in several more sensible users through Baby SIM."
DTAC urges sensible phone use in TVC
Thailand's second-largest mobile phone operator DTAC will warn chatty teenagers about the dangers of talking too much on their handsets in a campaign that breaks this month.