The 5G era expected to bring huge economic gains for Thailand

Chadaphan Maliphan

As the world turns digital, the fifth-generation (5G) era is considered a global phenomenon of the future which will create tremendous economic benefits for Thailand in various industries. With as much as 100 times the speed of current wireless networks, together with significantly reduced latency and high accuracy, 5G not only helps to improve the efficiency of telecommunications such as mobile phones, it will also help to realise Industry 4.0 in Thailand.

There will be plenty of business opportunities with the 5G technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), to create new products and services that will drive economic growth and job creation for decades to come.

“Thailand’s 5G technology is expected to help drive the economy by at least 177 billion baht this year, accounting for 1.02 per cent of the country’s GDP,” according to Mr. Takorn Tantasith, former Secretary-General of Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which is the government’s frequency allocation unit. He predicted that the value of the contribution to the Thai economy would be doubled in 2021, to 332 billion baht, and that it could rise further to 476 billion baht in 2022.

Thailand’s 5G Development

Thailand committed to developing the telecom infrastructure to enable the wide adoption of 5G wireless systems by 2020. The NBTC was assigned by the government in 2018 to facilitate the necessary infrastructure to achieve the goal of smart digital economy development under Thailand 4.0.

After the two-year preparation for adopting 5G, the NBTC conducted the bidding for frequency allocation for mobile phone businesses, such as the 700 megahertz (MHz), 1800MHz, 2600MHz and 26GHz spectrum, on 16 February 2020. Three major mobile operators — Advanced Info Service or AIS (owned by SingTel), Total Access Communication or dtac (owned by Norway’s Telenor Group), True Corp. (partly owned by China Mobile) and two State telecom enterprises CAT and TOT — bid a combined 100 billion baht at the auction. On the low-band 700 MHz spectrum, CAT won two licences, while AIS took one licence. A total of 19 Licenses for the mid-band 2600-MHz spectrum were taken by AIS and True, which won 10 and 9 licences, respectively. For the high-band 26GHz range divided into 26 licences, only dtac took part in this auction section and won two licences. AIS won the majority of 12, while True got eight and TOT won four of the remaining licences.

The licence winners must use the four spectrum ranges only for 5G networks. With the payment incentives provided, they must also develop the 5G network in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project in order to cover about 50 per cent of the area within one year of the licences being awarded. In addition, they must cover 50 per cent of the population in smart city zones within four years.

5G testing centres in educational institutions

The NBTC further funded a project to set up a centre at Chulalongkorn University (CU) for testing 5G wireless telecommunications services. According to Prof. Watit Benjapolakul at the university’s Department of Electrical Engineering, 5G operators AIS, True, dtac and TOT/CAT Telecom as well as telecom equipment manufacturers such as Intel, Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei, plus Toyota have joined the centre in connection with the development of auto vehicles.

In addition, the NBTC signed a technical co-operation to establish a 5G testing centre together with Chiang Mai University (CMU), Khon Kaen University (KKU) and Prince of Songkhla University (PSU), to prepare and support 5G activities in different regions throughout the country. KKU is set to test 5G in the field of smart agriculture in order to control agricultural production precisely, while CMU is focusing on testing 5G for the development of data management systems and robots to monitor the environment and emergencies (e.g., the high level of PM2.5) as well as drone control in fire suppression efforts.

At Kasetsart University’s Sri Racha Campus in the EEC, there is a testing centre called “5G Testbed@Sriracha”. Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has signed an agreement with 40 alliances from the public and private sectors, including Huawei Technologies (Thailand) and True, for 5G use case testing at the centre on controlling industrial robots, drones and smart buses.

Covid-19: A driving force for 5G

The covid-19 pandemic has become a key accelerator of digital transformation in Thailand, as it demands social distancing and transforms most physical activities into virtual ones that need ultra-fast connections. Telcom operators have been increasing the adoption of 5G networks because of the coronavirus.

AIS and True have launched 5G networks in hospitals across Thailand to support medical personnel who are fighting against covid-19 infections. Chulalongkorn University also co-operated with AIS in developing smart robots with 5G technology to monitor and take care of covid-19 patients and related cases. The two telecom operators have also introduced their 5G networks countrywide to support the growing demand for virtual activities such as meetings, shopping and education.

5G use cases in businesses and industrial sectors

Use cases will identify system functionality. Mr. Takorn Tantasith explained that the most appropriate time for 5G adoption in Thailand would be late 2021, as use cases need some time to develop.

Following the application of 5G by the telecom operators for a few months, most of the 5G use cases are in the healthcare sector. For example, in late June 2020, the NBTC joined with Siriraj Hospital and Huawei Technologies in introducing the use of 5G-powered unmanned vehicles to deliver medical supplies within the hospital. Similarly, a smart ambulances project was launched in collaboration between True and Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital.

To increase use cases in other areas, the NBTC signed a deal with the Department of Airports to support 5G technology provided by AIS and True for its regional airports; Krabi airport is serving as a pilot project. The NBTC also endorsed an experiment that is claimed to be Thailand’s first Industrial use case by the Siam Cement Group (SCG) in collaboration with AIS and Prince of Songkhla University. The experiment involves the use of 5G technology in operating an unmanned forklift at the SCG plant in Saraburi, controlled by SCG headquarters in Bangkok.

Launching the 5G service in Thailand in late February 2020, AIS has co-invested in the U-Tapao Airport Development Project and Eastern Aviation City and started testing the 5G Smart Airport project. It is working with the Port Authority of Thailand on testing 5G in the Laem Chabang Port area, and with Hutchison Ports Thailand on remotely controlling the ports container cranes. The operator has also co-operated with industrial estate groups such as WHA Group for testing the 5G Smart City project.

True recently launched its 5G energy-saving services, while organising several roadshows to showcase its 5G technology countrywide with free 5G offers. True has also announced its focus on online education.

Meanwhile, dtac is testing a 5G wireless broadband service on its 26GHz band. It is undergoing three use cases in different industries with partners under non-disclosure agreements.

A 5G-powered unmanned vehicle at Siriraj Hospital

Huawei Technologies

Contact details: Chadaphan Maliphan, Publications and Communications Manager, Tel: +66 2 055 0623, chadaphan@gtcc.org

Sources:

- AIS: http://investor.ais.co.th/news.html/id/785523/group/newsroom_press

-Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1480493/nbtc-ordered-to-set-up-5g-by-2020, https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/1783509/feb-16-date-for-5g-bids, https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/1941232/ais-looks-to-leverage-5g-network-in-eec and https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/1864284/5g-is-about-to-be-real

- Positioning Magazine: https://positioningmag.com/1286086

- South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3050909/thailand-raises-us32-billion- 5g-license-auction-ahead-commercial-roll

- Thansettakij: https://www.thansettakij.com/content/421868