Ericsson to power dtac Thailand’s 5G network

Almost half of Thailand’s 70 million population live in areas to be served by a new Ericsson 5G radio access network (RAN) for Thai communications service provider dtac.

Ericsson 5G RAN products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, including Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, will power dtac 5G services in the Bangkok Metropolitan area, the central plains and the eastern economic and industrial region of Thailand.

Ericsson Spectrum Sharing will enable dtac to dynamically share 4G and 5G traffic to support a smooth, fast and cost-effective transition to 5G. Ericsson’s radio products and solutions portfolio will also deliver energy efficiency and power consumption benefits to dtac.

Whether through gaming, streaming, innovation or smart living developments, mobile subscribers, enterprises, industries and municipalities in Thailand are set to benefit from the high-speed, low-latency and high-data capacity of 5G.

dtac is set to deploy its network on the 700MHz band to expand coverage and capacity nationwide, as part of its strategy to bring fast 5G and 4G to all customers.

The 5G deal is the latest stage in a long and successful partnership between Ericsson and dtac. The partnership already spans 3G, 4G and managed services, through the implementation of Ericsson Operations Engine.

Prathet Tankuranun, Chief Technology Officer, dtac, says: “dtac sets the priority on bringing high-speed internet service to all of our customers. We never stop and are speeding up the development of our nationwide 4G and 5G networks. The latter is being deployed on the low-band 700MHz, which will enhance our network efficiency across Thailand, particularly the high-density downtown areas with high-rise buildings. Our customers can experience better and better services from our restless efforts to roll out network through utilizing Massive MIMO technology to increase the upload and download speed by three times. We connect everyone to every important thing in life.”

Nadine Allen, Head of Ericsson Thailand, says: “5G will play a critical role in accelerating the digitalization of the economy and stimulating next-generation innovation for consumers and enterprises in Thailand. Therefore, we are delighted to strengthen our partnership with dtac for 5G deployment in Thailand. Our 5G RAN technology leadership will enhance dtac’s ambitions to deliver the benefits of 5G for consumers and enterprises in Thailand. Based on our technology leadership and experience with 5G deployments across the globe, we are in a good position to support Thailand on its 5G journey.”

Ericsson has been dtac’s managed services partner since January 2020, through the deployment of Ericsson Operation Engine to provide AI-powered data driven and customer-centric managed network operations.

Ericsson currently has 123 commercial 5G agreements and contracts with unique communications service providers globally, including 77 live commercial 5G networks.