State enterprise National Telecom (NT) and Eutelsat OneWeb plan to co-launch the satellite network portal (SNP) gateway service for OneWeb's low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in December, with system testing beginning this month to ensure maximum service quality.
The gateway facility is expected to support more than 50,000 users in Southeast Asia, excluding Thailand, within its first year of operation, according to NT president Col Sanphachai Huvanandana.
This is part of NT's shift towards the space economy, he said.
Col Sanphachai said NT expects a revenue stream from providing facilities to OneWeb's LEO communications satellites of at least 200 million baht per year. The commercial service is expected to start in January 2025.
The move came after the board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) granted approval to the partnership to provide a satellite broadband internet service internationally under NT's landing rights.
Eutelsat OneWeb and NT have collectively invested over US$25 million in the local infrastructure to make Eutelsat OneWeb services possible in Thailand and the region.
However, the service launch is still in the process of regulatory approval from NBTC. It is also awaiting a resolution from the Office of the Attorney-General after NT's board previously asked for the office's opinion on the NT-Oneweb agreement, especially on the part of the distributor's conditions.
NT expects to be given the go-ahead for providing the service in the local market within the next three months.
The gateway facility for OneWeb's LEO system is located at the Sirindhorn satellite earth station in Ubon Ratchathani province. The selection of the location was based on its robust infrastructure, strategic location, and expert personnel, enabling NT to provide highly efficient services across Thailand and neighbouring countries.
Bala Balamurali, vice-president of Southeast and East Asia at Eutelsat OneWeb, said with the completion of this site, OneWeb's low-latency, high-speed services can be activated to provide critical connectivity solutions across Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
OneWeb is an LEO constellation satellite owned and operated by the Eutelsat Group. Eutelsat operates 35 geo-stationary (GEO) satellites and 634 LEO satellites. It is the world's only GEO-LEO satellite operator.
Through the landing rights in Thailand held by NT, the partnership is to bring the benefits of OneWeb's satellite technology to the country, while NT's gateway licence enables the operation of NT's gateway in Ubon Ratchathani's Sirindhorn district.
Mr Balamurali said the SNP gateway service's key features include a maximum data transmission speed of 10 gigabits per second, low latency of 20-50 milliseconds, coverage across Southeast and East Asia, international standard backup and security systems, with a total investment exceeding 400 million baht.
The SNP gateway can support communications through OneWeb's LEO satellite network across the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Taiwan, South Korea, and parts of Indonesia.
In addition, it can integrate with SNP gateways in other regions worldwide to support seamless international communications.
Mr Balamurali said the gateway services will enhance communications across various sectors such as business, education, public service and government.