The telecom regulator should allocate spectrum ranges for enterprise usage through its licensing regime in order to drive the Industry 4.0 ecosystem and ease the operational cost of deploying private wireless networks and related purpose-designed solutions, according to Nokia Thailand, the local unit of the Finnish telecom equipment maker.
The company said that although a variety of spectrum ranges have been put up for auction, more frequency ranges could be allotted for enterprises, which could promote digital adoption in the sectors capitalising on 5G and 4G technology.
Thitipan Worakulladthanee, enterprise sales director of Nokia Thailand, said enterprises could be awarded permits to utilise the spectrum bandwidth in the portions and specific locations where there is no interference with mass communication signals provided by mobile operators.
In global cases, a variety of spectrum bands are allocated to enterprises through both affordable licence costs and being free for use.
The use of digital platforms powered by spectrum usage could help upgrade businesses' productivity and operations as well as reducing operational costs and boosting efficiency in dealing with Industry 4.0.
The industries can proceed with the transformation by switching from existing WiFi systems to the real 5G tech platforms, which can ease operational connections.
"The private wireless network and purpose-designed solutions for the real enterprise 4.0 market in the country are in the early stages of adoption in the vertical industries," said Mr Thitipan.
He said Thailand has been making significant progress on the road to Industry 4.0 since the launch of the government's 20-year strategy to accelerate the country's economic growth, focusing on robotics, factory automation, aviation, logistics, and agriculture.
Thai smart city development is leading the way in the region with its first 5G adoption in the Eastern Economic Corridor and continued efforts to expedite the harnessing of digital transformation solutions, said Mr Thitipan.
He said Nokia Thailand specifically aims to get a pilot project in the enterprise 4.0 sector this year to cash in on the Industry 4.0 roadmap, which is more critical than ever for enterprises to accelerate adoption of these technologies and unlock new opportunities that will help digitalise industries and boost the economy.
Nokia is keen to provide industrial-grade private wireless networks that have proven to be the critical enabler to accelerate Industry 4.0.
Together, Industry 4.0 and private wireless enable industries to fuse physical with digital processes by connecting all machines as well as sensors and mobile workers in the most flexible, affordable, secure and reliable way available, providing mission-critical solutions for enterprise customers, said Mr Thitipan.
For Thailand's smart cities and industrial ecosystem, the company is committed to bringing purpose-designed solutions for Industry 4.0 digitalisation, from its Digital Automation Cloud solution to 5G routing silicon, digital technologies that are capable of transforming industries into so-called Ready 4.0 Anything operations.
Nokia has 228 commercial 5G deals in key markets, of which 75 are communications service providers on 5G networks and 34 are public enterprises.