BANGKOK--Thailand launched its first 3G commercial trial last month, but government regulations and limited hardware continue to hamper the technology's rollout in the kingdom, industry observers said.
Thailand's biggest mobile service operator Advanced Info Services (AIS), launched on May 6 its 600 million baht (US$5.3 million) digital 3GSM service along with a commercial trial in the country's northern city of Chiang Mai.
The service operates on the 900MHz frequency transmitting on High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) at 7.2 Megabits per second, 45 times faster than existing GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) or EDGE systems. 3GSM services include high-speed Internet, video calls, video streaming and sizable data downloads.
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| Thailand needs widespread broadband services in order to promote technology and economic growth. We cannot afford to wait much longer. |
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| Amarit Sukhavanij, Next DTAC |
AIS was vague on trial benchmarks and adoption rates, but said it is targeting to rope in up to 80,000 3G subscribers by the end of 2008, when its service goes nationwide.
"We are focusing on the quality of the network, service and commercial operations," a company spokesperson told ZDNet Asia. "So far, there are no major problems with this area. A minor issue is the availability of 3G handsets operating under the 900MHz frequency."
To address this, he said in an e-mail interview, AIS is developing a wider range of handsets through its Phoneone house brand. The operator also received customer feedback about the limited coverage area, currently restricted to Chiang Mai city center, which is supported by 25 base stations.
Speedy approval needed
Analysts said 3G adoption rates in Thailand would be slow until industry regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), licenses the 2100MHz frequency. To date, only the 850MHz and 900MHz frequencies have been approved.
"Adoption will be tied to handsets," Nathan Burley, Asia-Pacific broadband and Wi-Fi analyst at Ovum, said in an e-mail interview. "We are very bullish on 3G adoption across Asia-Pacific due to the continued availability of handsets. 3G devices supporting 900MHz and 850MHz frequencies will be less prevalent than 2100MHz, and therefore adoption will be slower in these bands."
Lower frequencies do yield benefits in terms of broadcast range though, Burley said.
"In Thailand, the lower frequency bands will give significant advantages in terms of propagation," he explained. "The operators will be able to leverage these, and it will allow them quicker coverage of rural areas."
AIS' Bangkok launch was originally scheduled for mid-June, and the operator needs to upgrade 30 base stations to HSPA to support the service. However, the launch has been delayed because the NTC has been slow to approve technology imports.
AIS hopes to introduce the service in Bangkok by the end of July, but its company spokesperson said it could not give a firm launch date.
Information and Communications Technology Minister Mun Patanotai told reporters last week that disputes between state-owned telecoms companies, CAT Telecom and TOT--and their concession holders--had slowed 3G's development in Thailand.
Patanotai said Cambodia and Laos have already deployed 3G, and the service should be available on existing networks in Thailand within the next year.
AIS runs its service on TOT network, while the country's second mobile provider Total Access Communications (DTAC) operates through CAT.
According to AIS, current delays could prevent the company from gaining a competitive lead. The operator added that it was unlikely to be able to move forward as long as problems between CAT and DTAC remained.
DTAC said its Bangkok commercial network would be fully operational by the second quarter of 2009, with countrywide urban coverage by the end of next year, if the NTC approves its license application this month.
Amarit Sukhavanij, vice president of Next DTAC, said the company does not plan to run any trial because it has tested the technology. The service provider will use the 850MHz frequency, which has a wider range of handsets available compared to 900MHz, Sukhavanij said in an e-mail interview.
DTAC plans to have 2 million to 3 million HSPA subscribers, using both handsets and notebooks, by the end of 2010, he said.
"The government already has a good policy of encouraging broadband rollout in Thailand, but this needs to be more than a PR (public relations) exercise," said Sukhavanij. "The state agencies and regulator must have the political will to make decisions and carry this policy forward."
"Thailand needs widespread broadband services in order to promote technology and economic growth. We cannot afford to wait much longer," he said.
True Move Thailand's third largest mobile network operator said it is adopting a wait-and-see approach to 3G. "We are waiting for the NTC's and ICT's decisions as to what direction they want mobile phone operators to go," a company spokesperson told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview.
Greg Lowe is a freelance IT writer based in Thailand.
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