True Move gets go-ahead for strong 4G bid
China Mobile International has given the green light to strategic partner True Move to bid aggressively for two licences in November’s fourth-generation (4G) spectrum auctions.
The full support by China’s biggest mobile operator is to ensure that True Move has rich telecom bandwidth resources for further business expansion.
China Mobile International, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile Communications, acquired an 18% stake in True Corporation for 28.6 billion baht in mid-2014.
“We want to maintain our leading position in the local 4G market for the long term,” said Suphachai Chearavanont, chief executive of True Corporation, the parent company of True Move.
He believes competition in the local 4G market will be fierce next year after a slew of new players enter the market.
True Move was the first mobile operator in Thailand to offer 4G LTE service, with 1.8 million 4G subscribers at present. The company has 23 million subscribers overall.
“We want to have 2 million 4G subscribers by year-end, with almost a 90% share in the local 4G market,” Mr Suphachai said.
True Move has operated 3G service on 15 megahertz of bandwidth on the 850MHz spectrum under a wholesale-resale contract with concession owner CAT Telecom since 2011.
The company also provides 4G service on 15 MHz of bandwidth on the 2100MHz spectrum under a licence from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.
True and China Mobile are studying a plan to bid for one licence each in the 1800and 900-MHz spectrum auctions to provide 4G wireless broadband under the group’s convergence approach.
“We will fight to the end to get two licences in the auctions,” Mr Suphachai said.
He declined to elaborate on how much True has budgeted for the bidding, saying only that the company’s existing budget is sufficient to support two licences.
He said it was too early to know how fierce the 4G auction competition will be, despite at least four companies expressing interest in joining the bid.
Mr Suphachai acknowledged that True Move’s share in the 4G market could decline once bigger rivals jump into the market after winning licences.
True Corporation continues to develop greater convergence solutions consisting of telecommunications and broadcasting services to meet increasingly sophisticated customer demands, he said.
The group has strengthened its convergence of services, including pay TV by TrueVisions, fixed-line broadband by True Online and mobile services by True Move.
True aims to expand its fixed-line broadband network nationwide to cover 10 million households by 2017, up from six million now.
The company yesterday launched its latest communications systems and services under the True Smart Life, Smart City concept.
True is staging a six-day event, running through Aug 31, at EmQuartier.
Services range from broadband internet to 3G and 4G networks, converged cloud technologies and smart innovations for digital lifestyles.
The event features technologies for smart life, smart homes, smart buildings, smart businesses and smart cities.