Development of Broadband in Thailand TCT Seminar on “Future Communication Technologies” January 29, 2010 Miracle Grand Hotel, Bangkok Dr Supot Tiarawut Director Telecommunication Research and Industrial Development Institute, Office of NTC

Contents Broadband vs. Economy What’s in the ranking? Current market status Technology review Issues in broadband expansion ICT Master Plan ( ) Proposed strategy

Broadband vs. Economy Obama's stimulus package of US$7.2 billion for broadband investment Australian government invest US$3.1 billion in national broadband network.

Telecom investment and GDP Denotes 1-way relationship Denotes 2-way relationship Source: TRIDI TRIDI's study of Telecom investment and GDP shows positive causal relationship between telecom investment and GDP growth

Source: Global Information Technology Report 2009 – 2010, WEF Country Individual Usage Rank Thailand Viet Nam Singapore Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Korea Japan China What’s in the Ranking?

Mobile Market Source: NTC Mobile Sub. 64,049,329 Growth rate 2.33 %

Fixed-line Market Source: NTC BMA 3.73 M Provinces 3.56 M Total 7.29 M

Internet Users Source: NECTEC 16,100,000 Average Growth 30% per year Average Growth 30% per year

Broadband Subscribers Source: NTC 1,804, % of Household

Broadband/Available Line Source: NTC 75.24% 24.76%

International Bandwidth Source: NECTEC

Thailand Market Status Population 65 million Fixed-line subscribers 7.0 million Mobile subscribers 64.7 million Internet users18.1 million Broadband subscribers 1.9 million (as of Q3-09)

Technology review: in context of Thailand Fixed broadband – FTTX – xDSL – PLC

Technology review: in context of Thailand FTTH – High speed access to homes and businesses – Meets customers’ needs on bandwidth growth – However, Fiber plant rollout is expensive It takes times to build coverage Existing fiber is far from customers Not in the spotlight (of Thai operators)

Technology review: in context of Thailand xDSL – Over 1.8 M subscribers – 3-12 Mbps service is now available – Not all customers can get 12 Mbps service – Many customers only get 1 Mbps because of the distance from DSLAM.

Technology review: in context of Thailand PLC – Many trials were performed with electrical authorities. – The technology still has many flaws.

Technology review: in context of Thailand Wireless broadband – 3G / HSPA – WiMAX – LTE – Wi-Fi

Technology review: in context of Thailand 3G / HSPA – Most wanted technology in Thailand – Operators are ready either to upgrade their network to 3G or invest and build new wireless network

Technology review: in context of Thailand WiMAX – Anticipated as a contender for 3G and LTE – Not getting support from key service providers worldwide – Business model for WiMAX is not clear.

Technology review: in context of Thailand LTE – Gaining support from operators worldwide – Equipments and handsets still expensive – Thailand: not suitable for mass adoption in the near future – cost of handset beyond reach of most people

Technology review: in context of Thailand Wi-Fi – Key user of ISM and U-NII band – Most popular indoor access mode for broadband services

Technology review: BIG picture Fixed and wireless together provide access to the same services for consumers. Application ADSL FTTHHSPA Wi-Fi WiMAX

Technology review: BIG picture Customers can use facebook, Gmail, twitter, IM, video streaming … from their computers, phones, ipods or other devices.

Issues in Broadband Expansion (1) Coverage – Fixed broadband stands at 10% of household – Upper limit at fixed line penetration of 11% – Mobile networks cover many more subscribers Speed – Access speed of ADSL for most sub. is limited to 3 Mbps – Current access with 2G is limited in speed and far from ubiquitous

Issues in Broadband Expansion(2) Technology – Immediate solution: going for 3G – For longer term considering FTTH roll-out as bandwidth and speed requirement grows. Migration from 3G to LTE

Issues in Broadband Expansion (3) USO – Limited roll-out – Service definition changing to include data/internet – Challenges to expand service coverages IT Literacy Affordability

ICT Master Plan ( ) Broadband Target Provide at least 4 Mbps access to households in major cities in every province Provide access to 50% household coverage to the rest areas Provide at least 10 Mbps access to every high school Provide at least 4 Mbps access to every community’s learning/ health-care centers

Sources: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicator Database 12 th Edition 2008 Country Total Annual Investment in Telecommunication (Millions US$) Valu e % GDP Valu e % GDP Valu e % GDP Valu e % GDP Valu e % GDP Thailand na Korea 1, , , , na Japan 20, , , , na China 26, , , , , Investment in Telecommunication

Proposed Strategy Accelerate licensing of 3G and beyond, to stimulate mobile internet Implement broadband internet to schools with FTTX, as part of a new economic stimulus package Utilize 3G/WiMax networks to provide USO, including voice and basic data services Incentive and stimulus for implementing FTTX

Thank you for your kind attention