Dtac To Lead Thai Telecom Industry Into 4G Era

[webfact]

TELECOM

Dtac to lead industry into 4G era

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Total Access Communication (Dtac) shows its readiness to play a leading role in the Thai telecom industry, in bringing state-of-the-art 4G technology to consumers.

The technical test for 4G technology today at "dtac house" shows that 4G mobile signal is capable of downloading data at the speed of 150 mbps, or 5 times faster than 3G and over 200 times faster than 2G. The demonstration test is part of the technical trials recently launched by Total Access Communication PLC or dtac in the vicinity of Siam Square and Chamchuri Square, which is also houses the head office of dtac or the, so-called, "dtac house".

"This 4G technology trial is the next logical step in our journey to constantly improve and strengthen the quality of our network under our 'Life Network' campaign. We are pleased to now have the most advanced telecom technology and equipment in use. Our current network system would enable us to switch on 3G and 4G signals less than 15 minutes at each base station and bring state-of-the-art services, as well as new possibilities and limitless opportunities to our customers nationwide," said Darmp Sukontasap, chief corporate affairs officer.

Dtac now has over 15,700 base stations across Thailand. Over 5,000 of them will be 3G enabled by the end of the year.

"With all this progress, we believe dtac will become a leader in telecom service. With the most advanced technology, we will soon be ready to provide 3G services on the 2.1 GHz frequency band and 4G services in the future," said Darmp.

Prathet Tankuranun, senior vice president - Network Operations Division, said that the test, conducted with the use of aircards and 4G-compatible smart phones, showed a satisfactory result.

"By the end of this year, we expect to have completed the upgrade at base stations in other parts of the country. Besides offering 3G services on the 2.1 GHz frequency band, Dtac is also preparing for the arrival of 4G services. With the technology and equipment that we now have, upgrading our network to 4G is very easy and takes less than 15 minutes at each base station. This will position dtac as the most-prepared telecom operator to launch 4G services in Thailand. All this reflects dtac's leadership in communication technology, and the fact that it now has one of the most advanced mobile networks in Asia," Prathet said.

-- The Nation 2012-11-08

[sjjmmi]

Hahahaha Joke of the day

[jbrain]

Does that mean that instead of 30KB on my Dtac 3G I will get 40KB on my Dtac 4G ?

[webfact]

Office of Ombudsman acts; petitions Central Administrative Court for judicial review of 3G mobile phone service licences auction; license issuing delayed /MCOT

[RKASA]

This is killing me - we still can't get a phoneline or anymore then edge 2G edge @200k via dtac not even the 384k it should be - I pay for 3gig of 3G every month so it won't slow to 64k not because I get any 3G and have been ripped off for a year now - I see no sign 3G will start working at any time soon - and they start to even mention 4G.

This is Not the Nation right.

Please show me some 3G - I would love to move up to the 7gig package but why waste the money - hack! the tower warning lights on the dtac tower by my house went out 2 weeks ago. They can't change light bulbs in a timely manner what make you think they will ever have 3G working here yet alone 4G.

[soundman]

I sincerely hope it is better than 3G/H. I spent 10 minutes logging into a mail account on 3G/H in Bangkok the other day and a page load was five minutes or more or connection unavailable.

God forbid if you actually want to do something productive.

[planr]

Let's take them seriously for one minute - Can anyone with a background in telecom confirm that IF dtac implements 4G (big IF I know!), that it would be in the same 2100 MHz spectrum as the current 3G services (presumably what they won at "auction")? It seems implied in this article, however given the suspect nature of the English language journalism here, one never knows...

Edited November 8, 2012 by planr

[borisloosebrain]

Stopped using Dtac internet a while ago -too many times it would cut out, would not 'connect to server' and I'd have to wait till the next morning when their technicians rolled up to work before I could get back online. <deleted> service Dtac.

[RKASA]

Let's take them seriously for one minute - Can anyone with a background in telecom confirm that IF dtac implements 4G (big IF I know!), that it would be in the same 2100 MHz spectrum as the current 3G services (presumably what they won at "auction")? It seems implied in this article, however given the suspect nature of the English language journalism here, one never knows...

Yes I think so - they say it takes 15 min to upgrade a 3G site to 4G - given that - it must be just a matter of a plug in card, but getting license will be the problem and now the 3G is on hold again.

"With the technology and equipment that we now have, upgrading our network to 4G is very easy and takes less than 15 minutes at each base station."

[EvilDrSomkid]

What is the point of having 4G if the internet connection out to the rest of the world is <deleted>?

I switched to True Move H a few months ago because my DTAC 3G sucked.

[RKASA]

What is the point of having 4G if the internet connection out to the rest of the world is <deleted>?

I switched to True Move H a few months ago because my DTAC 3G sucked.

I wish I had this problem, but if all you have to start with is 200k it is hard to notice international connection problems - lucky you

[Stjohnm]

Let's take them seriously for one minute - Can anyone with a background in telecom confirm that IF dtac implements 4G (big IF I know!), that it would be in the same 2100 MHz spectrum as the current 3G services (presumably what they won at "auction")? It seems implied in this article, however given the suspect nature of the English language journalism here, one never knows...

I spoke to someone at DTAC a couple of weeks ago who confirmed these tests were ongoing but admitted its most likely be 12-18 months before we saw any kind of 4G rollout in Thailand & even then it'd only be in Bangkok & selected areas. I think its more important they concentrate on upgrading the whole country to 3G before they can start on 4G.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[lomatopo]

DTACs concession has the longest duration, until 2018. They could, in theory, use their existing 850, 1800 and assuming the recent auction holds, 2100 MHz to deploy 4G/LTE. They are not constrained by the types of service they can offer either on their concession spectrum or auction spectrum. There are also spectrum efficiencies inherent in LTE so obviously as service providers' capacities are stretched they may move, or re-farm, some sites/users to LTE sooner rather than later.

That said, given that there are relatively few LTE-capable handsets in the public's hands (some iPhone 4S/5's and 3G iPAds) there obviously would not be any need to deploy LTE over say the next 12 -18 months. I guess everyone who wants LTE is ready, willing and able to purchase a new phone? Eh.

I've been using DTAC/Happy 3G for ~ 10 months with extremely positive results.

Edited November 8, 2012 by lomatopo

[jerrysteve]

The 3G here in Thailand compared to the 3G in the U.S.A. and All western countries is like night and day.

The 4G in the U.S.A. and in Singapore are excellent..no lags at all in the performance whatsoever.

It will be interestesting to see if the 4G is comparable; if and when it is on stream here in Thailand, but I sure wouldn't hold my breath.

The Aircards which a trade name for Sierra Wireless are superior to the Aircards here by a larget Margin. and they have a couple of models

that operate on the frequences here and the U.S.A

The aircard I purchased here I thru in the trash..I brought back an Aircard from Sierra Wireless which gave the 3G a nice boost in performance.

and if and when the 4G rolls out it will handle the bandwidths here as well.

If they are still stuck on 3G, and it appears it will be a long long time, I can't even imagine how long it will be before 4G rolls out into the market

place here.

[baabaabobo]

"Dtac now has over 15,700 base stations across Thailand. Over 5,000 of them will be 3G enabled by the end of the year."

Says it all really...

Edited November 8, 2012 by baabaabobo

[Pib]

I've been with DTAC 3G for about a month now and here in my western Bangkok location (Khet Talingchan) I can easily pull +6Mb. I just did a test and pulled 6.25Mb. I can pull similar speeds in Nakhon Pathom City about 50Km due west of Bangkok were I have some in-laws. However, but, I was in central Bangkok today around lunch time on Sathon Road and could only pull around 300Kb when I had a H speed indication on the phone....much of the time it was showing E (Edge) and I could only pull about 120Kb. I drove the entire length of Sathon Rd in both directions...from the river to the Thai-Belgian Bridge intersection, and my phone speed indication was routinely switching between H and E speed indications. One would think that in central Bangkok maintaining a H connection should be easy on a main road like Sathon. In going back home as I crossed the Chao Phrayo River going west back into western Bangkok the speed picked up to 2Mb with a steady H speed connection...and a few kilometers west of the river I was back to 6Mb speeds. I was checking speeds closely today since I had made some firmware setting changes to my Android phone and wanted to see if the setting changes helped.

[bigbamboo]

Do Dtac want to buy a futsal arena by any chance?

Brand new...... never been used.

[asiawatcher]

If 4G is a 15 minute upgrade <deleted> are they still screwing around arguing over 3G? Are there anyone with brains in the Broadcasting Commission?

[Yme]

What a load of <deleted>. As I sit in Sukhumvit 22 under one of the biggest transmission arrays I've ever seen and look at an upload speed of 0.39kps and a download speed of 0.16kps I need something more reassuring than The Nation and Dtac to convince me that Dtac / Telenore have graduated beyond tin cans joined with pieces of string.

Personally I hope the 3G licenses are cancelled until the NBTC gets all of the telco's to sign up to a customer service charter with minimum service levels with heavy penalties for non delivery. Tired of being told by Dtac that there is nothing wrong with it's network and it "must be your computer".

[LuckyLew]

Takes huge nards to go on about being a 4G leader when you

have not yet got all 3G up and running everywhere

Having the capability and using and implementing it are very different things

[Skywalker69]

whats wrong with getting the 3G going before even start thinking about 4G.......please get back to the real World.

[ezflip]

"This will position dtac as the most-prepared telecom operator to launch 4G services in Thailand. All this reflects dtac's leadership in communication technology, and the fact that it now has one of the most advanced mobile networks in Asia," Prathet said.

Got to love this one. Most advanced mobile networks in Asia??? Credit for him to not have said 'in the world'.

[Pib]

Implementing 3G in Thailand sure hasn't been the fault of telecommunication companies like DTAC, AIS & True but inept govt agencies and semi-govt companies like CAT and TOT who continue to throw monkey wrenches into the 3G implementation process because they will be loosing revenue. Or should I say some rice bowls are definitely being tipped over. Throw-in some groups/people who will sue in a heartbeat which automatically throws certain inept govt agencies into fear the lawsuit may have validity and then those govt agencies put the brakes on the 3G implementation waiting for the courts to decide...and this all adds-up to Thailand possibly being the Hub of Patch Work 3G at least for a couple of more years as the rest of the world moves on to 4G/LTE.

[Tatsujin]

LMAO (again)

Could we please just get 3G working correctly first ...?

[lomatopo]

What a load of <deleted>. As I sit in Sukhumvit 22 under one of the biggest transmission arrays I've ever seen and look at an upload speed of 0.39kps and a download speed of 0.16kps I need something more reassuring than The Nation and Dtac to convince me that Dtac / Telenore have graduated beyond tin cans joined with pieces of string.

Personally I hope the 3G licenses are cancelled until the NBTC gets all of the telco's to sign up to a customer service charter with minimum service levels with heavy penalties for non delivery. Tired of being told by Dtac that there is nothing wrong with it's network and it "must be your computer".

Being "under" a cellular transmission tower is probably one of the worst places one could be, assuming signal strength was desired. It is probably the best place to be if one is susceptible to radio waves, and is not wearing their aluminium headgear.

The NBTC has imposed significant fines on DTAC for their multiple service outages over the past year or so. In DTACs defense, and as their concession has the longest duration, they are vastly improving their network infrastructure which, during some cut-overs has led to huge outages. AIS and TrueMove's concessions end sooner so they just limp along providing inferior service to everyone as they do not want to invest any more in a network which they will have to relinquish in 1 to 3 years.

This article gives you a feel for LTE roll-outs in the U.S.

http://techland.time...e-would-matter/

I return to the U.S. ~ every 60 days and I rarely even see 3G in metro-Boston - I do not have a LTE-capable handset.

Still not a lot of LTE handsets either in customers hands, or even on offer from manufacturers.

3G up to HSPA+ probably offers enough raw throughput to address most mobile broadband applications for the foreseeable future.

I'd venture to say that all three service providers cover 75 % - 80 % of the population here with 3G, not the geography of course. TOT and CAT might address an even higher percentage of the population?

"Dtac now has over 15,700 base stations across Thailand. Over 5,000 of them will be 3G enabled by the end of the year."

Says it all really...

Sorry, what is "it"?

DTAC has a contractual obligation via its concession to provide mobile telephony and data services (2G) to some percentage of the population and geography. Obviously many of these base-stations are in rural areas where the market for 3G services is probably non-existent. It's always going to be a balance as to where one offers 3G service, and targeting urban areas is probably best from a business perspective?

Edited November 9, 2012 by lomatopo

[jbrain]

whats wrong with getting the 3G going before even start thinking about 4G.......please get back to the real World.

But that's just the point, Thailand thinks they are the world and nothing else exist behind their borders, at least that's what they teach in the schools.

Look around fom the location where you are standing now, and within eyesight you will see the worlds biggest, the worlds largest, the worlds greatest signs.

The only thing you however see in reality is the worlds dumbest and the worlds biggest egg on face.

[wpcoe]

"Dtac now has over 15,700 base stations across Thailand. Over 5,000 of them will be 3G enabled by the end of the year."

Says it all really...

Sorry, what is "it"?

DTAC has a contractual obligation via its concession to provide mobile telephony and data services (2G) to some percentage of the population and geography. Obviously many of these base-stations are in rural areas where the market for 3G services is probably non-existent. It's always going to be a balance as to where one offers 3G service, and targeting urban areas is probably best from a business perspective?

I think "it" is the % of existing base stations (< 33%) which are (will be by year's end) 3G capable, hence indicating the degree of commitment even to nationwide 3G coverage.

[mortenaa]

whats wrong with getting the 3G going before even start thinking about 4G.......please get back to the real World.

But that's just the point, Thailand thinks they are the world and nothing else exist behind their borders, at least that's what they teach in the schools.

Look around fom the location where you are standing now, and within eyesight you will see the worlds biggest, the worlds largest, the worlds greatest signs.

The only thing you however see in reality is the worlds dumbest and the worlds biggest egg on face.

DTAC is an international company, which is owned and run by Telenor, and Norwegian telecom company, which already offer 4G services in other parts of the world. DTAC's current 3G-services is running on upgraded 2G-antennas, on a frequency that can't possibly give enough bandwidth to all the users. The reason for this is of course not DTAC's fault..

[deniro24]

whats wrong with getting the 3G going before even start thinking about 4G.......please get back to the real World.

But that's just the point, Thailand thinks they are the world and nothing else exist behind their borders, at least that's what they teach in the schools.

Look around fom the location where you are standing now, and within eyesight you will see the worlds biggest, the worlds largest, the worlds greatest signs.

The only thing you however see in reality is the worlds dumbest and the worlds biggest egg on face.

Well, from my humble point of view, Thailand, or some parts to be semi-exact, is THE place to spend a life. Problem is that a lot of people feels the same so tourism's running wild, demanding commodities, leading a light year ahead of the Thai mentality (meaning nothing offensive). A LOT of money being shoved in one place is always bad news and if one's smart there, he's going to be a lawyer, or businessman, or authority person. The scenario is the same... but here the impact and consequences are stronger. (Light)years will have to pass for them to agree to agree on many ways to get even more money offering good and quality IT and networking commodities in this global shithole. I'm wondering how this shit is going to look like in 100 years. Once, the wise man said: "The man of science will acts as if this world were an absolute whole controlled by laws independent of his own thoughts or act; but whenever he discovers a law of striking simplicity or one of sweeping universality or one which points to a perfect harmony in the cosmos, he will be wise to wonder what role his mind has played in the discovery, and whether the beautiful image he sees in the pool of eternity reveals the nature of this eternity, or is but a reflection of his own mind." Well, the man of science is dead and we're spinning out of control. Only smart thing to do? Find a beach to enjoy and a bitch to love, or other way around...

[jayjayjayjay]

"Our current network system would enable us to switch on 3G and 4G signals less than 15 minutes at each base station and bring state-of-the-art services"

Hilarious... they will only have to wait 15 years to get permission. Where do I go to watch next comedy show!

Watch this space............

Edited November 9, 2012 by jayjayjayjay