Right on target

True Corp recently won an international award for its next-generation hot-spot or wi-fi service in Thailand, due to its seamless access and enhanced security.

Dr Attapol Wannasarnmaytha, deputy director, True Internet, says the award was granted by the WBA Wi-Fi Global Congress in the US.

“Today’s technology allows a very fast hot-spot service up to 1 gigabit per second. At present, our service’s average speed is 200 megabits per second.

“Hot-spot service has so far benefitted users in densely-populated areas such as business districts, offices, commercial areas, shopping and city centres.

“For foreign customers, they can also connect to our network automatically while in Thailand. About 100,000 foreigners use our service annually, while the charges vary depending on our roaming agreement with international partners.

“At present, we have the most hot-spot locations in Thailand, totalling about 100,000. We also expect to see a significant rise in the number of roaming wi-fi users in Asean countries in the next few years, as most new devices, smartphones and tablet computers, are all wi-fi-enabling,” Attapol says.

 Sujai Hajela, a vice present of Cisco’s network services group, which provides networking equipment and know-how, says that when Thailand’s third-generation or 3G network is operational some time next year, users can expect a seamless experience for both 3G and wi-fi services.

“The growth in usage of wi-fi services in Asean countries will likely be very rapid, driven by the widespread use of mobile devices, as the younger generations use them for both work and play.

“The hot-spot 3.0 will be an evolution, making it even easier to get local services that will come to you. That means when you go to a shopping mall, the network will know that you like coffee and you want to buy shoes.

“So when you are there, the mobile devices will direct you to the right places inside the mall. It will be like a mobile concierge. It will be an era of digital and mobile marketing.

“We are also working on the so-called local service discovery, to deliver mobile shopping experiences to users. Then, the local service analystics will be added. For example, inside a busy airport we will know which areas are busy so that we do some advertisements tailor-made to our target groups.

“Hot-spot technology can also be used to find out which airport areas are congested, so that they can deploy more people to the immigration area, for example.

“Another example is museums. Suppose I am in front of an exhibit, the network can deliver that exhibit’s information to my smartphone, to provide an immersive experience. The smartphone will become your personal guide for the museum visit.

“Retail banking or retail shops will benefit from what we call the ‘connected mobile experience’. When you walk near retailers, their logos will automatically come on your phone. When you click on the logos, the retailer will know who you are and can give you a personalised shopping experience or banking experience.”

Attapol adds: “There will be many location-based services. For example, I like golfing, so when I go to a shopping mall, the network will know my preference and alert me when I am near a golf shop that could be offering special discounts.

“In other words, all retailers will be able to provide specialised, tailor-made services to individual customers.”