True Corp leads Thailand's LTE race: Service launch planned for April 2013 in Bangkok

Details: Shardul Shrimani; Category: Wireless Networks; 19 February 2013; 12064 views

Thailand's third largest mobile operator by market share has announced it will bypass 3G and launch an LTE network by April 2013 in Bangkok...

Thailand's third largest mobile operator by market share has announced it will bypass 3G and launch an LTE network by April 2013 in Bangkok. True Corp will launch the service on the 2100MHz band as it has a technology neutral licence and has already ordered 4G network infrastructure. True Corp also owns 1800MHz spectrum which it uses for EDGE and GPRS services and has a build transfer operate (BTO) contract with CAT Telecom.

The decision to launch initially in Bangkok is the logical choice for a first phase role out. The city offers a mix of technology enthusiasts and business users who demand high speed mobile data connectivity.

True Corp was award the 2100MHz spectrum in October 2012 by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the country's regulator by way of auction which also awarded licences to Advanced Info Service (AIS), Total Access Communication (TAC). The auctioning of the licence differs from past award processes in that the operator fully owns the licence. In the past operators have been offered BTO revenue sharing concessions with one of the two state-owned operators, Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) Telecom or Telephone Organisation of Thailand (TOT). The BTO scheme allowed the government to maintain control of the market, the infrastructure and obtain much-needed capital from private investors to provide a service that could meet market demands.

Using the 2100MHz band is still a little unexpected as the operator submitted a request to the regulator to test LTE on the 1800MHz in January 2012. The 1800MHz band is one of the most suitable bands for LTE as it offers good coverage which reduces the number of base stations required, excellent data capacity, good in-building penetration compared to spectrum above 2GHz and LTE devices in this band are widely available. In countries where there are extreme weather conditions, internet is predominantly accessed from indoors which requires spectrum with high building penetration capabilities.

Outlook: 4G has the potential to quickly become the dominant standard for mobile in Thailand

In the past the Thai mobile market has suffered a wide range of setbacks due to political and regulatory setbacks. However market dynamics are changing, the auctioning of the 2100MHz spectrum marks a significant change to the past BTO method and LTE trials continue to take place. BTO concessions will expire in September 2013 and operators will have to return spectrum acquired under this method for reallocation.

4G trials have already been carried out: True Corp will have a strong advantage to launching LTE first however other operators have trialled the service and are continuing to do so. In February 2012, the Information and Communicatiosn Technology (ICT) Ministry announced the country's first LTE trials in Bangkok and Maha Sarakham province. The service was supported by the public-private collaboration of TOT, the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), and Advance Info Service (AIS). At the time, AIS trialled the service on the 2300MHz band on around 20 base stations in Bangkok. AIS also carried out a 4G trial with CAT Telecom on the 1800MHz band at 8 cell sites in Maha Sarakham. Earlier this month the Thai MVNO Samart Corporation announced that it would trial 4G services on TOT's 2100MHz spectrum.
Other operators will join the 4G race as the regulator is set to award 4G licences in 2013: Earlier this month the NBTC proposed to auction off 1800MHz spectrum in Q3 2013. The spectrum will be made available from operators who's BTO agreements will expire in September 2013 and will have to return the spectrum back to the NBTC for reallocation. Although a precise date is not set and Thailand has had a history of postponing mobile licences, the reallocation will allow other operators to enter the 4G market which could see them launch within a year of spectrum allocation.
Initial services are likely to be dongle only however there are a wide range of LTE compatible devices on the market: LTE is gaining traction in the APAC market and new compatible devices will be made available for the market. When LTE was first launched in the region services could only be provided via dongle. However within the last year a much wider range of smartphones, tablets and mi-fi 4G compatible devices have been launched. Huawei for example is offering a 4G handsets that are compatible on the 2100MHz band True Corp intends to use.