TOT has proposed a business plan for 4G-2.3GHz wireless broadband to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, aiming to launch the service in the third quarter of next year, said a TOT source.
The NBTC telecom committee plans to convene next Thursday to consider allowing TOT to upgrade the use of 64 megahertz of bandwidth on the 2.3-gigahertz spectrum to provide fourth-generation service from the current provision of transmission link. This is aimed at helping TOT survive after its mobile-phone concession granted to Advanced Info Service expired last month.
The TOT's business plan does not specify how much it would invest to set up this new 4G service, the source added.
The planned 4G service, using Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband technology, would tap both urban and rural consumers. The aim is to cover all major cities within four years.
In the first phase starting next year, it plans to set up at least 2,000 4G base stations in every province with sufficient capacity to serve 500,000 subscribers. In the second phase in 2017, it plans to double the number of base stations, to at least 4,000 nationwide, to serve 1 million users.
In the third phase in 2018, it will increase the number of base stations to 6,000, which could serve 1.5 million users. The fourth phase, to begin in 2019, would bring the total to 10,000 with capacity to serve 2 million users.
Last week TOT acting president Monthchai Noosong said the planned 4G-2.3GHz service would enable the state telecom agency to capture a market that is inaccessible through its existing fixed-line broadband service.