True Corporation is flexing its muscle in Internet of Things (IoT) services through the launch of a Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) network that covers every major province and is scheduled to expand to all provinces nationwide by May this year.
The move capitalises on fast-growing demand for IoT by enterprises and individuals globally and strengthens the firm's leading IoT position.
The company Wednesday launched the IoT eSIM (electronic SIM) package, starting from 330 baht per year, targeted at three main market segments of IoT users: makers and innovators, business partners and general customers.
"Our IoT ecosystem is better prepared compared with major rivals thanks to testing carried out during the initial stages of the True NB-IoT network in 2016, coupled with strong global IoT platform partners like Huawei, Ericsson and China Mobile," said Songtham Phianpattanawit, managing director for IoT of True Corp.
He said the global IoT market is estimated to grow an average of 28.5% per year until 2020, and there will also be huge investments in IoT-related businesses under the Thailand 4.0 initiative.
Many sectors are likely to adopt IoT technology in the move towards a forward digital society, such as automotive, agriculture and healthcare.
A Frost & Sullivan report on IoT market trends and value found there were 8.4 billion connected devices in 2017, up from 6.4 billion in 2016, some 31% growth.
By 2020, 65% of total enterprises in the global market are expected to utilise IoT devices and solutions, increasing from 35% of total enterprises in 2017.
Mr Songtham said True provides IoT services via NB-IoT and LTE-M network.
NB-IoT is a narrowband radio technology designed for IoT. LTE-M is a low-power wide-area technology that supports IoT through lower device complexity and provides extended coverage.
True claims it has the largest IoT connectivity area.
Mr Songtham said True's IoT service and business unit generated 800 million baht in revenue for True Corp in 2017, and is expected to deliver over 1 billion by this year.
The company's IoT products include True Kidz Watch, True 4G Car WiFi, True 4G CCTV and iHealth View for wireless blood pressure monitoring.
True Corp has 5,000 enterprise clients, with some 50% expected to adopt IoT-connected devices and solutions by the end of 2019.