AIS said that the use of spectrum will allow the telco to offers network slicing capabilities as well as low latency
BANGKOK, THAILAND- Thailand’s largest mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), is planning deployment of millimeter wave spectrum in the country next year, once compatible devices are available in the market, the telco’s head of mobile and consumer products, Saran Phaloprakarn, said.
Speaking at Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum, held this week in Bangkok, the executive said that the launch of this spectrum will allow the telco to offer network slicing capabilities as well as low latency.
“What we need is the deployment of the millimeter wave spectrum. That depends greatly on the availability of handsets. Today millimeter wave-enabled handsets are only available in the U.S.,” he said.
“We hope that this year or next year there will be millimeter wave devices and that ecosystem of devices is ready for us so that we can deploy the enhanced mobile broadband and unleash the potential of 5G,” Phaloprakarn added.
The AIS executive also noted that 5G devices were expensive when 5G first launched in Thailand, with the iPhone 12 being the only choice. Now, more sub-$200 smartphones have been launched from manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and Xiaomi, enabling local consumers to rapidly increase the adoption of 5G services, he said.
During his keynote speech, Phaloprakan also highlighted that operators are working hard to monetize their 5G capex, because the investments in this technology are huge.
AIS is currently focusing on expanding its 5G network to cover all 77 provinces of Thailand. The carrier’s 5G network currently reaches nearly 80% of the population, with the aim of reaching 85% by the end of this year.
AIS launched 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) service in February 2020 using the 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 26 GHz bandwidth that it won in the spectrum auction, followed by 5G SA in July 2020 in cooperation with Huawei.
AIS’ customer base reaches nearly 45.5 million subscribers, including 3.9 million 5G subscribers as of the end of the second quarter. AIS had deployed around 20,000 5G base stations nationwide as of July 2022.
In July of 2021, AIS partnered with Chinese smartphone manufacturer vivo to run 5G Standalone (SA) network tests in Thailand. The tests took place in Bangkok and utilized a vivo V21 5G smartphone, achieving, according to the companies, impressively high speeds of connectivity.
