Bangkok--25 Sep--dtac dtac together with Huawei completed its test on the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, using the 2.5 GHz frequency, in Mahasarakham University. The test is successful and the company is considering to apply for a license, waiting for the National Telecommunications Commission to be ready to issue one.Rolf Marthinusen, Chief Technology Officer of Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (dtac), says the company in collaboration with Huawei Technology Co finished the 180-day WiMAX trial in the compound of Mahasarakham University in Maha Sarakham province. The trial ran successfully. The maximal downlink rate stands at 10 megabits per second (Mbps) and the highest uplink speed is at 4 Mbps. dtac conducted the test at Mahasarakham University because it was easy to find target groups there and the place witnesses a variety of testing environment both in building and rural coverage. It wasn’t only the performance of the client devices being tested to monitor the data transmission speed while on the move but also the efficiency of the network serving many devices all in one time. The company chose to test WiMAX on the 2.5 GHz frequency because the frequency is used internationally and Intel Corp, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, intends to produce the WiMAX chipsets for notebook computer at the very frequency. This will guarantee a large customer base of WiMAX services in the near future. Rolf says dtac can apply for a license right after the National Telecommunications Commission finishes the allocation of frequencies for WiMAX services and is ready to issue a license. The WiMAX technology will interest the parties that need broadband services such as tourism-related businesses, hotels and luxurious resorts, especially those on resort islands, as well as large-scaled universities and the areas without fixed broadband Internet. The strong point of dtac, as a mobile phone operator, to become a WiMAX player rests with its current network of over 9,000 base stations nationwide. Importantly the company can efficiently determine the areas of high broadband Internet demands thanks to the existing database of its EDGE customers. The WiMAX Forum expects the number of WiMAX customers worldwide to exceed 133 million in 2012 and over 70% of the people will use mobile phones and portable communication devices to connect to the Internet. The number of the customers is likely to increase further and thus the WiMAX technology will be popular in many regions, especially Asia and the Pacific region where there will be over 60 million WiMAX users in 2012.From left to rightMr.Preecha Weraarchakul, Head of Network Strategic Planning Unit, Total Access Communication PLC.Mr.Surapon Eiamprapaporn, Head of Strategic Planning and R & D Department, Total Access Communication PLC.Mr.Rolf Marthinusen, Chief Technology Officer, Total Access Communication PLC.Mr.Richard Zhang, Managing Director, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd.Mr.Wang Yanqiao, Deputy Managing Director, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd.Mr.Mao Dun, Senior Product Manager, GSM/UMTS Technical Sales Department, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd.