Dtac Wants Wimax And 3g Licences

[george]

Dtac wants Wimax and 3G licences

Move in line with carrier’s focus on wireless technology

BANGKOK: -- Total Access Communication (DTAC) plans to apply for licences to operate in both broadband cellular and high-speed wireless Internet technologies, to enhance its business.

Sigve Brekke, co-chief executive of the country’s second largest cellphone operator said yesterday that DTAC would apply for a third generation (3G) mobile-phone licence as soon as the National Telecommun-ications Commission (NTC) completes the 3G licensing regulations.

The NTC is expected to complete its 3G licensing plan by early next year.

“We’re waiting for the 3G licences to come out,” Brekke said.

The 3G technology enables the high-speed transmission of multimedia information such as video broadcasts, promising a new revenue source for telecom operators.

Leading mobile operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) has also announced plans to apply for a 3G licence.

DTAC’s strategic partner Telenor recently introduced a 3G network in its home market in Norway.

Brekke disclosed that DTAC was also considering applying for a licence to offer the latest broadband wireless Internet access technology, called Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax).

This was consistent with the company’s focus on wireless technologies.

WiMax provides data connections at distances of up to 48 kilometres from the service point at a maximum speed of 70 megabits per second. Again, the NTC has yet to complete regulations for this technology.

DTAC’s top man said 3G and WiMax would complement the carrier’s existing high-speed cellular network portfolio, including the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network and the Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network.

DTAC plans to introduce its 3G network in the centre of Bangkok to complement its EDGE network in the major cities and its nationwide GPRS network.

Meanwhile, DTAC yesterday launched a push email service, called DTAC Push Mail, aiming to serve corporate customers in need of constant access to their email accounts.

It aims also to boost DTAC’s data revenue. Its target is to attract 3,000 users by the end of this year.

The service enables the users’ handsets or handheld computers to promptly receive email sent to their corporate addresses.

--The Nation 2005-07-06

[george]

DTAC seeks licence to run wireless Internet

BANGKOK: -- DTAC will apply for an ISP licence from the National Telecommunications Commission to tap the growth of multimedia Internet services over mobile phones.

Co-chief executive Sigve Brekke said the cellular operator was excited about the ways in which technologies such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max could connect mobile phone networks to provide Internet access.

In addition, he said, DTAC would apply for a 3G (third generation) wireless licence from the NTC as soon as it issues licensing regulations, expected early next year.

But because the investment cost for 3G is high, DTAC would initially offer the network in Bangkok only, he said.

DTAC now has Edge technology which offers data transmission speeds four times faster than GPRS technology in major cities. In smaller centres, the company uses GPRS technology deployed at more than 5,000 base stations nationwide to deliver multimedia services, he said.

DTAC yesterday announced a new e-mail service for corporate customers called PushMail, which is expected to help increase average monthly revenue from corporate users by 25%, according to Mr Brekke.

Average revenue at present is about 2,000 baht a month from big corporate customers and 1,500 baht from medium-sized ones.

DTAC expects 3,000 customers to be using PushMail by the end of this year, and an additional 10,000 next year. Currently it has 4,000 corporate customers.

--The Post 2005-07-06