AIS Fibre fixed broadband service launched as firm aims to be top player
ADVANCED Info Service yesterday officially launched its AIS Fibre fixed-line broadband service, after soft-launching it in April last year, with the aim to become a top-three player within three years and the market leader in five.
AIS is investing Bt7 billion this year to expand its fibre-optic network to cover 24 provinces by the end of 2016.
Saran Phaloprakarn, senior vice president for fixed broadband business |management at AIS, said only 6 million of the country’s 20 million households were currently connected with fixed-line broadband, so the market had high potential.
“Five million of the 6 million households connected with fixed broadband Internet are on ADSL technology, which is old and becoming obsolete. Fibre is the new technology that can get users online with high-speed Internet connections which [enhance] users’ experience with rich online content and applications,” Saran said.
He said fixed-line broadband would be fundamental to new business and new revenue streams.
As a newcomer in this market, AIS initially aims to be in the top three within three years, with almost a million subscribers in 2017. It also aims to have 3 million subscribers in five years to become the market leader.
To achieve these goals, Saran said AIS’s strategy was to cross sales with its post-paid telecom subscribers, who currently number more than 5 million.
“AIS’s post-paid subscribers will get a 10-per-cent discount per month as long as they remain our post-paid subscribers. New post-paid subscribers will also get the privilege,” he said.
AIS yesterday also unveiled a new strategy to capture more AIS Fibre subscribers with the prepaid model.
Initially, AIS collaborated with 20 dormitories with 4,700 units near universities to offer a prepaid fixed-line broadband service called AIS Fibre Dorm Net.
It aims to provide AIS Fibre to 900 buildings before the end of the year, which is counted as around 40,000 subscribers.
“This year, we expect AIS Fibre will have 400,000 subscribers, and around 10 per cent, or 40,000 subscribers, will be on the prepaid service,” Saran said.
AIS Fibre is available in three packages: Bt590 per month for 15/5 megabits per second, Bt750 per month for 20/7mbps, and Bt888 per month for 50/10mbps.
“In the future, we might have bundled packages between mobile and fixed broadband service,” Saran said.
