Thai operator plans to launch VoLTE-enabled phones with Huawei
Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service launched commercial voice-over-LTE services across all 77 provinces in the country, according to an announcement from the company.
The operator said the VoLTE service offers customers with capable devices access to high-definition voice quality, lower background noise, faster voice call connection times and the ability to access mobile Internet services simultaneously to a VoLTE call. Initially, the telco said it would offer VoLTE support on a limited range of smartphones including Samsung S7 Edge, S7, S6 Edge and S6, but now says VoLTE will gradually become available on other smartphone models.
AIS said its LTE service is currently available in all 77 provinces with LTE-Advanced service offered through 4×4 multiple-input/multiple-output technology, carrier aggregation in the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands, and other technologies including LTE-Unlicensed and licensed assisted access. According to previous reports, AIS and Huawei agreed to develop LTE-enabled phones, which will be commercially available by the end of 2016.
Viettel to form consortium to offer mobile services in Myanmar
In other APAC news, Vietnamese military owned telecom group Viettel plans to partner with a consortium of local companies and a military run entity to establish Myanmar’s fourth mobile operator.
Viettel plans to negotiate business and technical specifications with its partners before completing the application for the fourth mobile license. The government of Myanmar expects to award the new mobile license by mid-year.
The consortium of 11 local companies and the Ministry of Defense’s Star High Public Company will control a 51% stake in the new joint venture, while Viettel will hold the remaining 49%. The new spectrum concession includes 10 megahertz in the 900 MHz band and 20 megahertz in the 2.1 GHz band
Current mobile operators in Myanmar are MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo. Viettel has mobile operations in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Mozambique and Peru.