AIS previously indiated that it is planning deployment of millimeter wave spectrum in 2023
Thailand’s largest mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), said it has reached a 5G speed of 3 Gbps on its live millimeter-wave network in the 26 GHz frequency band in partnership with U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm.
“Today, the AIS 5G mmWave network on the 26 GHz frequency band can support the use of world-class smartphones powered by Qualcomm Technologies chipsets at a speed of up to 3 Gbps for the first time in Thailand,” said Wasit Wattanasap, head of nationwide operations and support business unit at AIS.
“Our work with Qualcomm Technologies will result in a better user experience for consumers and future industry applications such as streaming online games, self-driving cars as well as remote robot control that can be done in real time. In addition, this test can also support the development of new mobile chipsets,” the executive said.
ST Liew, VP of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Asia-Pacific and president of Qualcomm Taiwan, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, said: “This joint effort proves the feasibility of 5G mmWave deployment in Thailand, where Qualcomm Technologies believes that 5G mmWave will be the key to unlocking the full potential of 5G. The possibilities are virtually endless, and we are proud to take the first step with our key partners in bringing all the benefits of 5G mmWave to Thailand.”
In October 2022, AIS’ head of mobile and consumer products, Saran Phaloprakarn said that the telco was planning deployment of millimeter wave spectrum in the country in 2023, once compatible devices are available in the market.
Speaking at Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum in Bangkok, the executive said that the launch of this spectrum will allow AIS to offer network slicing capabilities as well as low latency.
AIS is currently focusing on expanding its 5G network to cover all 77 provinces of Thailand. The carrier said its 5G network covered 85% of the country’s population by the end of last 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 46.1 million subscribers, including 6.8 million 5G subscribers as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. AIS had deployed around 26,000 5G base stations nationwide as of December 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.
