True Corporation Is Urging Telecom Body To Go Ahead With 3G Bidding

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Telecom Body Urged to Go Ahead with 3G Bidding

Telecom giant True Corporation is urging the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to clarify the bidding process for 3G licenses on the 2.1 Gigahertz frequency, saying that any further delay will hurt plans to open up the telecom industry.

President and CEO of True Corporation Suphachai Chearavanont said he believes the official establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will promote growth for the telecommunication industry.

He noted that today, only 2.5 million out of twenty million households have access to land-line telecommunication services.

Suphachai hopes that the NBTC will announce the date of the bidding for the licenses to operate 3G service on the 2.1 Gigahertz spectrum.

He said his company is ready to join the bidding, but is waiting for clarification about bidding conditions and the number of available licenses.

He is looking forward to meeting with the NBTC board to exchange ideas soon.

The top executive said the faster 3G licenses are doled out to eligible operators, the more telecommunication services will be accessible to Thais. Should the bidding process experience any further delay, it could impede the liberalization of the telecommunication industry.

Meanwhile, Suphachai said the company has not yet been able to estimate how much revenue will be generated from the True Move H service on the existing 850 Megahertz spectrum.

However, he noted that the company will invest around 25 billion baht over two years, between 2011 and 2012, and projected that the service will generate ten to 15 billion baht in revenue and that they will have four to five million users by 2012.

Revenue from broadband service is predicted to grow 20 percent, from eight billion baht last year to around ten billion baht this year.

Suphachai commented on the free tablet computer scheme for students, saying that the program will help promote learning and access to high-speed internet, but that it must be carefully controlled because children will also be able to more easily access inappropriate content.

He said that if the policy is carried out in a practical manner, the private sector will be able to reach more consumers.

Recently, True Corporation launched Ultra Wi-Fi by True Move H, a wireless high-speed internet service with 100 Megabyte per Second bandwidth.

The Ultra Wi-Fi service is 20 times faster than a standard Wi-Fi and it is only available at Siam Paragon as of now.

The company is planning to increase the total number of access points to 700 at locations like shopping centers, office buildings and universities in the metropolitan area.

-- Tan Network 2011-09-14

[Pib]

He noted that today, only 2.5 million out of twenty million households have access to land-line telecommunication services.

And those other 17.5 million households have been holding out for 3G arrival...they just can't wait to signup.

[mdechgan]

I can't beleive 3G is still unavailable here. In other countries 4G is already being used(really fast).

[Pib]

CAT and TOT are just ensuring a staged implementaiton of 3G....I think the final stage is scheduled for the year 2030.