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Competition is driving prices down, but only a handful of the country's ISPs are making profits. Those that aim to succeed must continue upgrading technology, or look for niche markets in specialised services ISP competition heating up

 

INTERNET

ISP competition heating up

KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE

This has been a year of change around the Internet. Internet service providers (ISPs) have seen competition drive down access fees, and 2000 saw the dawn of broadband services. Foreign interests have moved in to take a stake in several ISPs, while scores of new web sites and services have been launched.

Although it is hard to accurately survey the number of people using the Internet in Thailand, the number is believed to be around one million, based on a ratio of 11 users to 1 kbps of international bandwidth.

Currently, Thailand has around 265 Mbps of international bandwidth in total, a dramatic increase from 32.75 in 1997, according the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec).

The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) forecasts that the number of Internet subscribers would increase to between 2.7 million and 3.2 million by 2004.

There are now 18 ISPs while new companies have been investing in several of the early providers: the netherlands-based MIH Group bought into Internet KSC;

Singapore Telecom invested along with Loxley in PointAsia, the holding company for Loxinfo; and Singaporeûs Keppel Group bought into the AR Group's Anet Internet.

Another change is the arrival of foreign ISPs including Singapore-based Pacific Internet and Hong Kongûs Cable & Wireless. Some ISPs are also aiming to raise funds by being listed on either the Stock Exchange of Thailand or the Market for Alternative Investment.

According to the Commercial Registration Department of the Commerce Ministry, fewer than half of the ISPs were making a profit in 1999.

Those with respectablebalance sheets included Internet KSC, Internet Thailand, Anet Internet and Siam Global Access.

This year has seen broadband service offerings emerge, promising speeds of 64kbps, 128 kbps or higher and becoming available to home users and to small and medium enterprises.

High-speed Internet is now offered in the form of DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) by Lenso Datacom; ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) from Ucom; Turbo Internet via satellite from CS Internet; or through cable modem access from Asia Infonet. ISDN is also available from some parts of Bangkok and is supported by some of the larger ISPs.

Internet providers have also been expanding their businesses in various ways, with some offering promotions on Internet access, and others marketing e-commerce solutions, applications on demand and services as Internet data centres.

Internet service fees have gradually been reduced to 15 baht an hour on average, with some ISPs charging much less as part of promotion campaigns. Promises of free service were made several times in 2000, only to be postponed. One such operator, Freei.net, might make its debut in January if no more regulatory hurdles arise.

However, the TDRI has forecast that free Internet would not be popular, while Internet Thailand president Trin Tantsetthi said would be only a gimmick.

''The pressure from free Internet may have a short-term impact on the industry,'' said CS Internet general manager Anat Kaweruamvongs, but he also believed there would not be enough advertising revenue to sustain a free service.

Thailand has been slow to adopt e-commerce, in part due to the absence of e-commerce laws (see pages 28-30), while most observers believe the real potential is in business-to-business e-commerce, rather than business-to-consumer or web community sites.

They argue that most Internet users here are low-income students with not enough credit cards to fuel an Internet economy.

Pursuing the B2B model and setting itself up as a role model for others was FoodMarketExchange, a high-profile grouping of major Thai food exporters looking to provide a focal point for buyers of Thai crops, seafood and livestock products around the world.

Major Service Providers

Here is a summary of the main offerings by the six major local ISPs, which account for more than 80% of the traffic as measured by Nectecûs network testing laboratories www.nectec.or.th/internet/route/report.html.

A-Net Internet by Anew Corp

www.a-net.net.th or 861-1533 or 861-1555. International bandwidth is 14 Mbps and it has 30 branches outside Bangkok. The company also aims to be a solution provider for e-brokerages while providing an e-commerce portal at TodayInThailand www.today.in.th.

The company has tried to differentiate itself by offering services to specific markets. Recently, it launched a Women on the Web package with 60 hoursû access for 890 baht, plus a ``ladiesû nightûû promotion for free access on Wednesday nights.

Individual services are as follows: Anet Direct is an instant-access service offering choices of 25 hours for 900 baht, 50 hours for 1,700 baht and 100 hours for 3,200 baht. The Anet Card offers options of 25 hours for 600 baht, 50 hours for 1,150 baht and 100 hours for 2,200 baht. The Anet Time Zone provides 30 hours for 900 baht for heavy users to manage onlime time at certain periods.

Services for corporate customers include leased lines providing 64 to 2048 Kbps access, a corporate dial-in service for linking a LAN to the Internet via a dedicated telephone line.

Asia InfoNet by Telecom Asia

www.asianet.co.th or 641-1800. International bandwidth is 6 Mbps and 512 Kbps for the domestic link. It has local nodes in Chachoengsao, Phuket and Udon Thani. The company introduced a high-speed cable modem service in October. However, the service is limited to areas in Bangkok including Sukhumvit, Chaiyapruek and Phloen Chit.

The cable modem offers connections at 256 Kbps downstream and 64 Kbps upstream. Installation is 11,500 baht (10,600 baht for UBC subscribers). The fee includes equipment and deposit charges. Monthly charges start at 1,500 baht for 200 MB and increase to 5,000 baht for 1,000 MB. The ClickTA promotion campaign just ended, getting more subscribers than expected. Currently, there is only a monthly service for individuals.

Internet Thailand

www. inet.co.th or 642-7065-6. The company has a 42 Mbps international backbone, 100 Mbps for its domestic link, 32 branch offices and offers services to both individual and corporate users. Services for individuals include a pay-per-use Inet-Gold package at an average price of 17 baht an hour. Inet-Access offers a pre-paid service at an average of 13 baht per hour.

For corporate users, Internet Thailand offers corporate dial-up services via a normal telephone line or ISDN with 128 Kbps link. The start-up price is at 1,667 baht a month. Other services include a complete Internet solution for a company, including hosting, with leased lines, frame relay links or even building up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) between branch offices and company headquarters.

The company also provides domestic link service with speeds of 64 Kbps up to 2 Mbps and the start-up price is 30,000 baht. It also offers both international and domestic roaming.

CS Internet by Shin Corporation

www.cscoms.com or 596-5000. The company is the only ISP with local access in all 76 provinces, with 30 Mbps of international bandwidth and 18 Mbps for its domestic link.

For individuals, CS Internet offers kits including Bangkok Life with 20 hours for 210 baht, Bangkok Life Plus with 110 hours at 1,100 baht, Starter Kit with 18 to 79 hours at 259 to 962 baht.

For corporate users, SmartNet offers multiple access sharing the same usage hours with 60 to 720 hours at 1,000 to 9,000 baht a month.

Also available is a high-speed node via a leased-line connection of 28.8 Kbps up to 512 Kbps, priced from 27,000 to 378,000 baht. Turbo Internet offers high-speed access via Thaicom satellites. The speeds are four to eight times faster than a connection through a 33.6 Kbps modem.

The choices with the Internet Turbo are 50 hours to 720 hours per month, at 3,000 baht to 20,000 baht, plus 16,000 baht for equipment including a Turbo Card, a smart card and a satellite dish.

Thaicom Direct Internet offers two-way access via satellite, equivalent to 64 Kbps. The application fee is 10,000 baht. Also required is an equipment setup fee of 20,000 baht, a deposit of 20,000 baht and a monthly charge of 30,000 baht.

Internet KSC

www.ksc.net.th or 979-7000 or 979-7777. The company has a 50 Mbps international link, 34 branches and a series of services as follows: Individual services include KSC Web Surfer kit (399 baht for 15 hours), KSC Web Surfer Refill kit (799 baht for 45 hours), KSC Instant Internet kit (599 baht for 15 hours), a KSC Economy Account (450 baht for 30 hours), a KSC Premium Account (800 baht for 40 hours), and ADSL service (500 baht for a monthly fee, plus a monthly Internet access at 1,600 baht for 70 hours).

For corporate users, 10 service choices include Corporate Node, ISDN service and co-location service.

The company also hosts the Internet Shopping Mall at www.thaicybermall .com, an entertainment and the live broadcast site at www.thaicast.com and a free video messaging service at www.freeVDO.th.com.

Loxinfo by PointAsia Group

www.loxinfo.co.th or 656-0234 or 263-8000. International bandwidth is 22 Mbps with 8 Mbps for domestic link. Branches are in 34 provinces and it also has a solution for setting up Internet cafes under the brand name i-Kool.

For individuals, Loxinfo offers the 20-hour WebKiT for 560 baht which users can refill with a 20-hour Web 1 kit for 440 baht, a 40-hour Web Kit 2 for 720 baht and a Web 3 series with up to 250 hours for 6,000 baht.

Also offered are temporary accounts: WebNet with choice of 25 hours for 500 baht and 45 hours for 750 baht, RoyalOrchidNet for Thai Airways' frequent-flyer members to recieve access to the Internet at its lounges, BThai cards offering domestic links for pre-teens aged eight to 12 years. Offerings range from 10 hours for 120 baht to 40 hours for 320 baht.

For corporate users, services include WebPro for small and medium-sized companies to have Internet access and a domain name. The service charge is 1,800 baht for 75 hours and a membership and maintenance fee of 12,000 baht annually.

WebSharing is an Internet access solution for medium to small enterprises to have a domain name and multiple simultaneous Internet accesses. Usage time lasts for two years and it has two options: 1,500 hours for 32,000 baht and 3,000 hours for 56,000 baht, plus a yearly maintenance fee of 12,000 baht.

WebCafe offers a prepaid service for multiple users with access via an Internet account and one telephone line. The service fees include 300 hours for 4,650 baht, 1,500 hours for 21,000 baht and 3,000 hours for 39,000 baht. The Internet usage time is valid for one year.

ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network), which was developed for the existing telephone network, can connect a company to the Internet at speeds of 64 Kbps to 128 Kbps.

Loxinfo provides options of Individual ISDN connected via a standalone PC and also LAN ISDN.

The service charges are 5,100 and 10,000 baht for 75 and 150 hours with a 128 Kbps connection respectively. The LAN ISDN also has a yearly maintenance fee of 12,000 baht.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) connection, a high-speed Internet link which uses ADSL modem-based technology, allows users to answer the phone while surfing the Internet at the speed of 64 Kbps to 128 Kbps.

Currently, the service is limited to Bangkok users.

The service fees vary according to usage hours, ranging from 70 to 400 hours for 2,040 to 14,400 baht.

There are also leased-line services offering 64 Kbps to 2 Mbps connections with various types of service charges depending on corporate customersû requirements.

Other Service Providers

For those who want to look further afield and explore some of the offerings of the other 12 ISPs, see the following:

Asia Access Internet Service
www.asiaaccess.net.th or 617-0911.

Chomanan WorldNet
www.cwn.net.th or 943-1222.

Data Line Thai of Datamat Plc
www.linethai.net.th or 310-5335.

EZNet
Internet access for students and schools. www.princess1.net or 267-7604 or 267-7608.

Far East Internet
www.fareast.net.th or 718-8135.

Ji-Net of Jasmine Group
www.ji-net.com or 502-3730-2.

Roynet
www.roynet.co.th or 652-8600-4.

Samart Infonet of Samart Corp
www.samart.co.th or 502-6000.

Siam Global Access
www.sga.net.th or 955-0281-8.

The Idea Net
www.idn.co.th or 685-5600.

WorldNet
www.wnet.net.th or 618-8888.

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