3BB aims to be first to offer 10,000 Mbps on network
Triple T Broadband (3BB), the third-largest fixed broadband internet provider on the fibre-optic network, plans to be the first to provide the maximum speed of 10,000 megabits per second (Mbps) by March 2018 as it aims to lead the market by 2022.
To accomplish the target, the company has been installing 10,000 transmission nodes nationwide, with a completion date scheduled for March next year.
3BB has recruited 4,600 new technicians to meet its aggressive target, said Sittha Suviratvitayakit, 3BB’s executive vice-president.
“We have 270,000 household subscribers on our fibre-optic network, 18% of the overall market, behind Advanced Info Service (AIS) with 480,000 subscribers and True Online with 430,000 subscribers,” he said.
Mr Sittha said 3BB targets 2.5 million household subscriptions, a 50% market share, by 2022.
The company is the second-largest operator for overall fixed broadband service in the country.
He said there is still a much larger market for fixed broadband, as the penetration rate for household subscribers in developed countries is 50%.
3BB’s growth rate of household subscribers is 30% per year, with total household subscribers standing at 2.7 million, up from 2.4 million in 2016.
Mr Sittha said the company began installing the new transmission nodes nationwide in August this year with a total target of 10,000. Almost 7,000 have been installed and the remaining nodes are expected to be completed by March next year.
The new series of transmission nodes will facilitate internet capacity delivered to customers at 10,000 Mbps — 10 times higher than the current maximum speed provided by rivals, Mr Sittha said.
He shrugged off the leading position of AIS in the market, saying the market has been changing gradually as the price war strategy declines and real competition is based on the quality of the network and services.
“Competition had changed significantly since AIS launched its fibre-optic broadband service in April 2015,” he said. “AIS is a very strong brand that customers are familiar with, but AIS and True Online created confusion among customers with their promotional packages.
“The more bundled packages they offer, the harder it is to understand the real tariff of a single service.”
Mr Sittha said the low price is not the sole factor in luring customers to subscribe to the service, since network quality and service are key.
“Many of our new customers were AIS subscribers,” he said.
As of September, there were nearly 8 million households subscribing to fixedbroadband service in the country. Of this number, 2.9 million subscribers were serviced by True Online, 2.77 million by 3BB, and 1.8 million by TOT, while AIS had 480,000 household subscribers.