Thailand should auction the 3,500-megahertz spectrum by 2025 to deliver the most economic value and fulfil consumer and enterprise requirements in bolstering 5G development in the country, according to Ericsson Thailand.
If the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) cannot allocate the 3,500MHz spectrum range by that time, it may have to reallocate the 2,300MHz spectrum after the right to use the spectrum by state telecom enterprise National Telecom expires in 2025.
The reallocation will enable existing telecom operators to optimise the spectrum as a complement to the existing middle bands they have utilised for offering 5G service, said Igor Maurell, head of Ericsson Thailand.
The auction of the 3,500MHz spectrum or the reallocation of the 2,300MHz spectrum should be on the basis of affordable prices that can attract potential telecom operators to take part in the auction or the reallocation.
The 3,500MHz range is key to the middle-band for the global 5G development ecosystem and the top priority range for mobile phone operators' 5G adoption. Many European operators provide a 5G commercial service on the 3,500MHz range through a variety of networks and devices provided by vendors.
Mr Maurell said the adoption of 5G on 3,500 MHz would help Thailand remain competitive in the region, boosting more network capability and performance and creating value by monetising fixed wireless access (FWA) service for consumer and enterprises.
Previously, an NBTC source said the regulator set up a working panel for the preparation process of 3400-3700 megahertz licence auctions in the past few years but the plan to auction licences was scrapped after the 5G licences auction was held in February 2020.
Thailand is clearly at the forefront of the 5G wave as the market is very dynamic with some of the most information and communication technology-savvy consumers in the world, Mr Maurell said.
In addition, with Industry 4.0 gathering pace in the country as per the government's digital ambitions, reliable, secure and robust connectivity is imperative, he added.
According to Ericsson's estimates, Thailand had over 85% 5G population coverage at the end of 2022. Data consumption per subscription in Thailand is expected to grow from 32.7 gigabytes (GB) per month in 2022 to nearly 80 GB per month in 2025.
With a 300% data traffic increase expected in Thailand and a 500% increase of 5G subscriptions by 2028, 5G is expected to manage the growing capacity requirements of the networks, according to Ericsson.
Ericsson on Tuesday inaugurated its Imagine Live Thailand 2023 event that showcases its advanced 5G use cases and technology innovations that had been unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2023. The highlights of the display include its latest energy efficient radio solutions, holographic communications, digital twins, and network automation demonstrations, amongst others.
"With the high growth rate of use and demands in the Thai market, Thailand has to evolve its 5G infrastructure through the 5G standalone [SA] network to deal with business potential and efficiently support future services such as AR/VR gaming, remote control, industrial and urban control," Mr Maurell added.
The 5G SA is increasingly deployed globally and it helps provide a faster time to content, improved throughput, and support for network slicing, 5G reduced capability (RedCap), and VoNR, or voice over new radio.
RedCap, also known as 5G NR-Light, is a version of 5G technology that caters to mid-tier use cases. 5G RedCap brings the mix of capabilities in throughput, battery life, complexity, and device density needed to cost-effectively handle power diverse use cases.
VoNR is a protocol that allows voice calls to be made over the 5G network, using the same radio access technology that the 5G data network uses.
MORE DIVERSITY NEEDED
Mr Maurell said the existing Thai digital infrastructure needs to be more diversified or become more of a multi-vendor model to help attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country.
Thailand's data consumption and 5G adoption has grown very fast. However, it seems Thailand is behind some countries in the region in terms of 5G development.
He gave the example of Malaysia 5G, which is now ranked as the world's fastest. The service is provided by the state-run enterprise Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB).
The DNB is mandated to deploy Malaysia's 5G network and infrastructure on an accelerated schedule. DNB exclusively owns, builds and manages the 5G network and provides wholesale 5G services to licensed service providers, as well as infrastructure and technology services to support and enable businesses and government capabilities. DNB is licensed as a telecommunications operator by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Meanwhile, the Indian market is one of the most interesting as its 5G network rollout is seen as the fastest in the world with 100,000 sites within 10 months, he added.
He added that the zero-touch operations are becoming an essential facilitator for securing the future of reliable and efficient network operations. Zero-touch enables communications service providers to make their network operations more data-driven, predictive and proactive.