DTAC tripling bandwidth available for providing 4G service

DTAC currently utilises 5 megahertz of bandwidth on the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum to offer 4G service, with the remainder being used for 3G. It will allocate 10MHz of its 25MHz bandwidth on the 1,800MHz spectrum to offer 4G, giving it a total bandwidth of 15MHz for providing the service, Norling said.

The company currently uses all 25MHz of its bandwidth on the 1,800MHz spectrum for 2G cellular service, while it uses the 850MHz spectrum to provide 3G. 

DTAC has already fulfilled its commitment to roll out 4G in Bangkok and more than 40 other cities across the country, having completed the installation of more than 6,700 3G and 4G base stations by the end of last month.

Of the total, 3,000 sites are for the company’s 4G network on 2.1GHz.

DTAC plans to continue expanding its 3G and 4G coverage, with an ambitious target to have the largest number of 4G subscribers in Thailand, said Sigve Brekke, executive vice president and head of Asian operations at Telenor Group, which is the company’s strategic partner.

True Corp was the first operator in the country to offer 4G service, using 2.1GHz, followed by DTAC.

True utilises 10MHz of its 15MHz of bandwidth on the 2.1GHz spectrum to offer 4G, via its roughly 10,000 network sites nationwide.

Brekke added that DTAC would announce additional investment a couple of months before the next round of spectrum auctions takes place. 

The company has earmarked minimum capital expenditure of Bt14 billion for this year, based on the infrastructure-sharing model.

DTAC has been gradually rolling out 4G to each city since the beginning of the year, after the initial launch of 4G service last May.

The overall average data usage of its 3G and 4G subscribers stands at 4.2 gigabytes per second per month, while 1.75 million of its mobile-phone subscribers already have 4G-capable smartphones. 

Norling said that with his strong passion and commitment, he would drive DTAC to achieve the following by the end of this year: the fastest and best 4G service network on 15MHz bandwidth; the largest data network in the industry, with expansion of the company’s 3G network to reach 95 per cent of the population; the highest 4G customer base, with 2.5 million subscribers; and 60 per cent of DTAC’s customers using the Internet. 

Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission this week is resuming preparations for the next auctions of telecom spectrum licences, after the Cabinet’s acknowledgement of the proposed time frame last Friday.

There will be four licences up for auction, two of 12.5MHz each on the 1,800MHz spectrum and two of 10MHz each on the 900MHz spectrum.

The NBTC will hold the 1,800MHz auction in November, and take bids for the two 900MHz licences the following month.

Brekke said DTAC was serious about joining the auction, as having a licence was a means of reducing its regulatory cost under the state-concession regime.

Under its CAT Telecom concession, DTAC pays 30 per cent of gross revenue to CAT as a concession fee, while an NBTC licence costs only 6 per cent of the licence-holder’s gross revenue.

However, if DTAC failed to win a licence, it could still utilise its huge spectrum bandwidth across various spectra to provide wireless broadband service, given that its concession with CAT will not expire until 2018, he said.

In that eventuality, the company would still participate in other future auctions, the Telenor executive added.