>ASIAN TELCOS IN THE NEWS (CITI)

■ India Likely To Send Tax Notice To Vodafone Unit –Official — India is likely to send a notice to a Vodafone Group PLC unit asking it to explain why it shouldn't pay up to US$1.8 billion-US$1.9 billion in taxes, an official at the country's tax department said Tuesday. The notice, which will likely be sent within a month, will also ask Netherlands-registered Vodafone International Holdings BV to explain why it didn't comply with the country's tax norms while buying a stake in Hutchison Essar, Prakash Chandra, the director general for international taxes, said. "We are drafting the showcause notice. We hope to complete that process very soon," Chandra told Dow Jones Newswires. The move comes nearly seven months after the country's Supreme Country declined to hear an appeal by Vodafone International, which was contesting the right of India's authorities to impose tax on a deal completed overseas. Wall Street Journal

■ TOT, True both launch 12Mbps broadband Internet — TOT president Varut Suvakorn said the company had launched 12Mbps and 8Mbps services - with a monthly charge of Bt1,500 and Bt1,000, respectively - to meet the demand for faster Internet speed. TOT plans to invest Bt3.4 billion to improve its broadband Internet network until next August, as highspeed Internet will be a major revenue earner in the near future, he said. TOT still targets 1 million broadbandInternet subscribers, despite a reduction in service charges and faster connection speeds offered by competitors. It currently has 800,000 subscribers. True Corp, meanwhile, has introduced a 12Mbps service and offers free use for two months to subscribers currently using its 8Mbps network. The new service is expected to cost Bt1,699 per month. Bangkok Post

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