Korean Company Set Up Broadband In Thailand

[News_Editor]

KT Set Up High-Speed Internet in Thailand

KT, South Korea’s dominant fixed-line operator, has been accelerating its foray into Southeast Asian countries by tapping Thailand’s broadband Internet market.

The company on Thursday held a ceremony in Phuket launching 5,500 high-speed Internet lines, with president Lee Yong-kyung taking part in the event.

Among the lines, KT installed 5,000 lines in Bangkok and 500 lines in Phuket, the famous resort island frequented by foreign visitors.

This is KT’s second broadband network exports after the firm set up 4,000 high-speed Internet lines at three cities in northern Vietnam last September.

The telecom giant, which provides for more than half of Korea’s 11 million broadband subscribers, retains the advanced technological prowess in the state-of-the-art broadband network.

The Thai government launched a three-year plan, named ``Information and Communication Technology (ICT) City Project,’’ designed to boost broadband access in the nation under the initiative of its top telecom player TOT Corp.

KT took charge of the first phase of the project and established the broadband infrastructure in the two areas over the past four months.

Currently, roughly 3.5 million Thais out of the total 650 million population log onto the Internet periodically but only 50,000 have access to broadband services.

However, Thailand is evaluated to have great upside potential as its broadband market expanded more than 200 percent in 2003 from the previous year.

KT president Lee also acknowledged prospects for the Thai market look good and vowed to expand its reach in the Southeast Asian nation.

``The Thai government looks to further expand broadband networks in line with its ICT City Project, and we will also make efforts to cooperate with them on this,’’ Lee said.

In addition to Thailand, Lee added, KT would find new sources of revenue stream by making inroads into emerging markets like India and Russia.

``KT is now struggling domestically in revenues in the face of a saturated market and we need to find a next-generation growth engine,’’ Lee stressed.

Annual turnovers of the former state monopoly, which was fully privatized 2002, have increased at a rapid pace, becoming the nation’s first telecom outfit to top the 10-trillion-won milestone in sales at 10.3 trillion won.

Unlike the past, however, the company’s growth rate has slowed down to 0.5 percent over the past two years, spawning concerns that it is suffering a mid-life crisis.

--Korea Times 2004-07-15

[stumonster]

anyone got a link for them in bangkok, detailing when where and how much...

I for one may welcome our korean broadband masters....

[ovenman]

One wonders how many shares Mr. Big's maid, chauffeur, etc. own in KT...

[Darknight]

Currently, roughly 3.5 million Thais out of the total 650 million population log onto the Internet periodically but only 50,000 have access to broadband services.

mmm sudden rise in the population of thailand , isn't it getting crowded now ?

[Phil Conners]

It all is completely irrelevant as all traffic out of the country by law must go through the CAT's very limited and overpriced infrastructure.

[astral]

It all is completely irrelevant as all traffic out of the country by law must go through the CAT's very limited and overpriced infrastructure.

That may be so, but as more people are using these links there will more pressure for CAT to increase the bandwidth.

I hear very good reports of the new TT&T adsl service in Pattaya.

The more the merrier.

[Phil Conners]

Do you *really* believe the CAT feel any pressure?

[tuky]

Do the Koreans still have the highest broadband usage per head in the world?

if so that may say something.

[Phil Conners]

What does that say about a Korean company putting in the last mile in Thailand? Until lines in and out of the country (i.e. CAT) are open to free competition Internet in Thailand will remain expensive crap.

[Darlek]

anyone got a link for them in bangkok, detailing when where and how much...

I for one may welcome our korean broadband masters....

what makes you think it will be any good ?

if they are using the same clapped out and aniquated telephone infrastructure as the thai companies it will be the same.

lack of fibre optic cabling and telephone switching equipment is the same problem.

the fact that you cannot get a phone line very easilly tells you all you need to know .

[Darlek]

What does that say about a Korean company putting in the last mile in Thailand? Until lines in and out of the country (i.e. CAT) are open to free competition Internet in Thailand will remain expensive crap.

BT in the UK are spending Billion + pounds on upgrading the phone network for BB throughout the UK .

do you happen to know if Thailand is spending a smilar amount for BB in LOS ?

because if they arent then you are right !

[Phil Conners]

Darlek, they are not spending a satang on improving the infrastructure. They are busy installing ADSL able switches, but all the backoffice equipment is still the same old with much too little capacity.

There was a rumor about a year ago about privatisation of CAT but it appears that was all it was, a rumor.

[camerata]

It's pretty obvious from the bias in the article that it was written up from a TOT/KT press release.

[marquess]

If you want to see any progress. Come back in 10 yrs time.

[ovenman]

There was a rumor about a year ago about privatisation of CAT but it appears that was all it was, a rumor.

The CAT and any number of other Thai government entities have been due for imminent privatisation for at least as long as the eleven years I have been in and out of Thailand, but in the end there is always some reason why said privatisation needs to be postponed.

[astral]

It will happen one day,

but pigs may be the air first!!