Bangkok--20 Oct--Farh Agency
Thailand’s mobile operators are poised to invest around US$4 billion in rolling out Mobile Broadband (HSPA*) services over the next three years following the government’s decision to license new spectrum and allow existing mobile frequencies to be reused for 3G, according to the GSMA, the global trade body for the mobile industry.
The GSMA urges the government to proceed with the 3G licensing process as quickly as possible so that Thailand can fully reap the benefits of Mobile Broadband services, which will provide Thais with easy access to information on health, education, job opportunities, agriculture and many other important aspects of their lives. The rollout of 3G, enhanced by HSPA, will greatly improve the availability of broadband services in Thailand — only 2.2%** of households have broadband connections today and the country lags behind many of its neighbours in this respect.
“Licensing the 2.1GHz band will help Thailand to close the digital divide between urban and rural areas and between Thais and many other south east Asians,” said Ricardo Tavares, Senior Vice President for Public Policy of the GSMA. “While this spectrum will satisfy demand for the next two to three years, the Thai government should also begin moving now towards planning the 2.5GHz spectrum band for Mobile Broadband services using a structure that can accommodate different approaches*** to dividing the available bandwidth between users.”
The GSMA also called on the National Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NTC), the country’s regulatory authority, to ensure the licensing process is equitable and that the 2.1GHz spectrum is allocated in a way that ensures each operator has sufficient capacity to offer mass-market Mobile Broadband services without any risk of interference.
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