Thailand - First 50 Mbps service is launched on a limited basis, with plans to expand to more condominiums

[bangkokpost] True Online, the broadband internet arm of True Corp, launched Thailand's fastest consumer fixed-broadband internet service yesterday by announcing a 50 Mbps package.
The service is now available at 220 condominiums in Bangkok. Subscribers need to buy an aircard and select a tariff plan to access the service.

It offers a download speed of up to 50 Mbps and a separate upload speed of up to 3 Mbps. This means a 1.5-Gigabyte movie can be downloaded in about three to four minutes compared with two days on existing broadband services.

The service utilises VDSL2 technology. Suphachai Chearavanont, chief executive officer of True Corp, said the company was preparing to expand its 50- Mbps services in 1,000 areas in Bangkok in a second phase and in major provinces in the near future.

The new service is best suited for live video streaming, high-definition media content and internet browsing.

True charges 5,600 baht a month for the service which comes with unlimited 4-Mbps WiFi access. A 30-Mbps service costs 3,600 baht a month.

"We expect to have 10,000 subscribers and we are targeting iPhone customers," said Mr Suphachai.

This two-way broadband technology will also allow True to launch a 100 Mbps package in the near future.

"We are looking into bringing 200 Mbps service to Thailand as well," said Mr Suphachai.

Vichaow Rakphongphairoj, True's managing director and chief operating officer, said the company plans to spend 500 million baht to expand its broadband capacity in nine provinces by the year-end, bringing its service to 20 provinces.

There is high demand for bandwidth in the provinces, he said.

True had about 720,000 customers as of March, 90% using 4 Mbps services with the remainder using 4 Mbps to 16 Mbps services. The average revenue per broadband user is 723 baht a month.

True expects 800,000 to 900,000 total subscribers this year.

Broadband households in Thailand are expected to grow by 33% to 2.8 million this year, up from 2 million last year. Broadband penetration is projected to top 12% this year, up from 9% last year.

True offers Thailand's first 50 Mbps service