Somchai Lertsutiwong, CMO at AIS, admitted that the company’s mobile broadband service is running at a slower speed than advertised.
Slower speed was largely due to the transition period of its 3G network roll-out, but the deployment is five months ahead of schedule, said Lertsutiwong.
By August this year, AIS expects to have a minimum of 8,000 3G base stations in Thailand, as well as 1,000 bases in building areas.
AIS has 5,000 3G base stations on the 2100MHz frequency, in 31 major provinces, and expects this to grow to 6,000, and 67 provinces, by July this year.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has specified that all 3G licence-holders must deliver a minimum service of 345Kbps and 152Kbps for downloads and uploads respectively.