DTAC plans 50% 3G coverage on new network a year ahead of deadline
Total Access Communication (DTAC) says it will be ready to set up its 2.1-gigahertz network soon, totalling about 6,500 sites nationwide next year, which will be able to provide third-generation cellular service to 50 per cent of the population.
Chief executive officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said yesterday that DTAC was confident of establishing a network sufficient to cover half the Kingdom’s population one year ahead of the obligatory time frame set by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.
The NBTC obliges all three 2.1GHz licence holders, DTAC Network, Advanced Wireless Network and Real Future, to provide 3G coverage to 50 per cent of the population within the first two years of obtaining the licences, and 80 per cent within four years.
The licences were officially granted on December 11, valid for 15 years and expiring on December 6, 2027.
DTAC is not under any pressure to launch the service in too big a hurry but will ensure service quality first, Abdullah added. It is expected to introduce the 3G-2.1GHz service in the second quarter of next year.
Abdullah expects that half of DTAC’s more than 23 million mobile-phone subscribers will move to DTAC Network’s 2.1GHz service within a year of the network going online.
According to a recent filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, DTAC expects capital expenditure of about Bt25 billion for the 3G-2.1GHz network during the first three years.
