4G service 'part of push to be market leader'

He estimated there are around one million potential 4G customers in Thailand.
However, at present only a handful of the mobile devices available in Thailand are 4G-compatible. These include the Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 models, and the Sony Experia V. True is in talks with major smart-phone makers to get them to make more 4G-compatible mobile phones and tablets available here.
True’s wholly owned subsidiary Real Future debuted its 4G and |3G services on the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum on May 8. Real Future holds a 2.1GHz licence from the
 National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). It plans to roll out 2,000 sites on its 4G network in 15 major cities and 5,000 sites on the 3G-2.1GHz network nationwide this year. Its 4G-network equipment is solely provided by Chinese telecom-equipment supplier Huawei Technologies, while that used for its 3G-2.1GHz network was provided by Huawei and ZTE.
Real Future has allocated 5 megahertz of bandwidth out of 15MHz on the 2.1GHz spectrum to 4G service, with the remaining bandwidth allocated to the 2.1GHz service. Its other subsidiary, Real Move, provides the 3G-850MHz service under a partnership with CAT Telecom.

DTAC TO CASH IN

But it remains to be seen if True can achieve the goal of becoming the clear leader in the cellular broadband era. Advanced Wireless Network (AWN), a subsidiary of Thailand’s largest cellular operator Advanced Info Service (AIS), officially debuted its 3G-2.1GHz service on May 7, while DTAC TriNet of Total Access Communication (DTAC) is expected to officially launch a similar 3G-2.1GHz service next month. AWN and DTAC TriNet are the other two of the NBTC’s 2.1GHz licence holders.
DTAC will cash in on the huge bandwidth of its combined 1,800MHz, 850MHz and 2.1GHz spectrum bands to better serve data-hungry customers.
When asked which service True would focus on more – 3G-2.1GHz or 3G-850MHz – Suphachai said it would depend on the networks’ coverage in a particular area. For an example, in an area with an extensive 3G-850MHz network, the company will focus its sales on that service.
True’s 3G-850MHz service base stations are expected to total 13,500 nationwide this year, up from 13,000 sites at present.
Suphachai said the cost of offering 3G-850MHz service under the partnership with CAT, and that of providing the 2.1GHz service under the NBTC’s licence are not much different.
Recently, True’s mobile service group, excluding TrueMove, announced a target of 10 million customers this year, of which 4 million would be new customers and another 6 million will be those migrated from TrueMove, whose concession will end on September 15.