Full 4G service will transform Thailand into true digital economy: experts

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Full 4G service will transform Thailand into true digital economy: experts
Asina Pornwasin
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- THE introduction of full 4G service will bring new services, products and content to the market and help transform Thailand into a true digital economy, industrialists said recently.

THE introduction of full 4G service will bring new services, products and content to the market and help transform Thailand into a true digital economy, industrialists said recently.

"The introduction of 4G will bring about new services, products and content, and we expect the IT industry will significantly expand as a result. Many content providers, gaming companies and other new types of business will enter the market in the next two to three years," Tommy Matsuo, chief executive officer of Ookbee Mall (Thailand), said.

The e-commerce industry will blossom, as consumers will enjoy a stress-free environment to shop in, with more information about products be available, helping people to be better informed about what they are buying, he said.

For example, product information will not stop at size, colour and availability, as consumers will be able to see more details behind products, learning about the history and communicating directly with suppliers, he added.

The introduction of 4G will break down borders between the online and offline world. So, it will be important for businesses to reorganise or establish their O2O (online to offline) strategy soon.

"With the introduction of 4G services users will benefit from faster and more reliable mobile data services, as well as improved efficiency and productivity," Alessandro Piscini, CEO of Lazada Thailand, said.

"At Lazada, we are already seeing large numbers of consumers turning to mobile devices to purchase items online. When 4G networks arrive, this will ensure that consumers can always reach online shopping portals quickly and complete purchases more simply when on the go. Being able to view products more quickly allows buyers to scan more products per minute, and this is good news for sellers, too," he said.

A recent In eBay study noted that the top three barriers preventing consumers from shopping on their mobiles were slow connection speeds, payments timing out and network reliability.

With 4G connectivity, there is the opportunity to remove these walls and offer a better service, pleasing the consumer and seeing the sales for online businesses grow, Piscini added.

Stephane Cudennec, Amdocs customer business executive at APAC, said 4G deployment would help transform Thailand into a true digital economy, driving the adoption and growth of new and innovative services such as online shopping (e-commerce), mobile or interactive banking, HD video and TV content delivery, online gaming, and much more. It would bring a sea of change in how people function, whether it is buying products and services, |banking, communicating, entertaining themselves, or fetching information.

A truly digital life would become the way of things, where citizens will use the Internet to carry out day-to-day activities, he said.

This would also bring opportunities for other stakeholders.

For example, the arrival of 4G means that customer expectations would evolve faster than the 4G services rolled out, and they would expect a consistent and superior experience regardless of devices they use or where they are located, he explained.

Enterprises that invest in digital capabilities will be able to transparently and intelligently interact with customers and gain customer |loyalty in a sticky market, he believed.

It would also enable mobile service providers to deliver a "true" digital experience to their consumers by leveraging platforms such as self-service care and an "omni-channel" strategy to provide a highly personalised interaction with their customers, Cudennec said.

An omni-channel strategy will be critical to achieving this, "since a truly digital experience requires an omni-channel strategy and platform that is device- and channel-agnostic, to ensure that consumers receive a consistent experience, regardless of the channels of interaction or the digital device they choose to use," the Amdocs executive said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Full-4G-service-will-transform-Thailand-into-true--30272523.html


-- The Nation 2015-11-09

[jgriff]

Thailand is so far behind when it comes to mobile coverage it's embarrassing

[Toknarok]

Thailand will never be a 'true digital economy' especially when the 'single gateway' firewall is implemented.

[Laughing Gravy]

I would like to see true 3g first. this service is hardly complete and has so many shortfalls. I would like to see a true internet download and not what you might be able to get. 15Mb in many areas of Bangkok are hardly ground breaking even though higher download speeds are always being shouted about, I just don't see it.

[whatawonderfulday]

The only thing Thailand is good for as a Gateway is "Gateway to Pipe Dreams"

[kotsak]

Almost spilt my morning coffee just by reading the title.. Didn't dare to read the rest..

[waldroj]

Driving the adoption of new services! Aah yes, "driving"!

With 4G, just imagine how much more distractions you'll have while driving to/from work.

Won't make the journey any quicker, but it will seem to fly because of all the extra things you can look at on your mobile device.

[BuckBee]

The current 3G is well below what I would class as a standard 3G service & 4G will be same issue. Main problem is networks are overloaded & to improve that require big investment in hardware & they not prepared do that while can milk the users on current networks just tweaked enough at minimal cost . I was working in hongkong last month & stopped in bkk before heading back to singapore, it was a real shock using thai 3g after hongkong 3g & 3 network in hongkong damn cheap for what you get, thailand seems cheap but services are poor ...

[Pib]

Wow...4G will change the world...of course they said the same thing about 3G...and 2G.

[bapoboy]

8 reply so far and not a single postive.. the same old complain on and on again... you guys must have a hard life... <deleted> expats

[zaphod reborn]

Just a cash cow for the political mafia and telecom fatcats. No benefit to businesses and end-users.

[WhizBang]

Thailand doesn't even have decent 3G yet, all the while still thinking about 4G. Meanwhile, in the real world, 5G is starting to be implemented.

And let's not forget the Great Firewall of Thailand, that should be a major boon to the success of a digital economy here... NOT.

[deckape]

Full 4G service will transform Thailand into true digital economy: experts

Nah...probably lower productivity and increase road fatalities thoough.

[Lupatria]

...and a worthless aircraft carrier, 1.600 generals and 3 Chinese submarines will make this country a military super power.

LOS the hub of wishful thinking.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Lupatria

[torpedo1970]

"Full 4G service will transform Thailand into true digital economy"

That is what they said about 3G, and that they still have not made work properly yet...

And they never will

TIT

[Siammodels]

If the current thinking stays in play and the outrageous thinking of this PM with his gateway creation. Thailands 4G will not do any justice. No one cares about internet memory and speed whilist doing any business.

Although they do care about freedom of surfing the web and freedom to talk. Thailands economy will fold unless drastic attitude changes take effect.

Although it will not matter so much as this government will not be ellected again !

[dominique355]

Meanwhile the Union of CAT workers threatens -again (remember the 3G auction) - to delay 4G with never ending court actions. Explanation given : We just want to reserve the right to protect our organization's benefits.

Amazing, considering CATis a government agency.

[abitmiffed]

4G? Maybe get the bloody 3G working first, no one delivered a damn thing that was promised with that...

Thailand, the hub of bullsh1t and lies.

[Laughing Gravy]

8 reply so far and not a single postive.. the same old complain on and on again... you guys must have a hard life... <deleted> expats

The truth often hurts. How can you be positive when nobody believes it. As I and others have said 3G doesn't work, so if you want me to lie and say "wow can't wait for 4G". "It will be amazing and transform our lives". Now do you feel better or you can have the truth? It like all the other initiatives, they do not work and are therefor not truthful. You can put your head in the and for so long when you realize that, you can't see anything.

[Thai at Heart]

not if it goes thru a single gateway it wont

[anotheruser]

8 reply so far and not a single postive.. the same old complain on and on again... you guys must have a hard life... <deleted> expats

Your response is hardly positive. Tell us Oh wise one how will 4G transform Thailand into a true digital economy? I am not seeing how faster Facebook load times are going to transform the economy. Please add something informative and constructive to this little tid bit of news.

[oztaurus]

Wow - I can't wait for 4G!

... It will make it so much faster to locate my nearest bank branch so I can walk in to update my pass-book.

[anotheruser]

I can hardly contain my excitement!!! Thaivisa will load fractions of a second quicker on my iphone!!!!

[maewang99]

it's could be more than just a few seconds here and there..... it could be a perfect storm! as everyone knows and has been anxiously awaiting for many years (along with 4G) in just a few weeks.... it will finally be AEC 2015!!!!!! add in 4G services and we get an ASEAN economic community plus a Digital Economy at the same time! wow!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited November 9, 2015 by maewang99

[BB24]

Sure it will mate - absolutely I believe you .................................

[realenglish1]

Its never going to happen as long as it they have laws governing foreign investment and do not open up to it

You need the Global community to drive E commerce and Thailand at this point does not embrace them

[Rancid]

Wow, faster Facebook and Line. Just watch the economy jump.

[MaxLee]

With a "certain project roaming in the shadows",..... ain't gonna happen,.....................

[DrTuner]

Yeah right. How about having working infra for micropayments first. The usual bank transfer-email system is laughable. I order my stuff from China, using EBay and PayPal, no hassles.

[Lupatria]

Sure it will mate - absolutely I believe you .................................

No Airplanes? Looks like the sky over LOS after the FAA inspectors left the country...