Alcatel-Lucent to power dtac’s network upgrade in Thailand

• Thailand has more than 93mil mobile subscribers from its 68.4mil population
• Upgrade to ultimately pave the way for ultra-broadband 4G LTE services

DTAC, one of Thailand’s largest mobile operators, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent’s Agile Optical Networking to upgrade its existing 3G (Third Generation) network and lay the foundation for a 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network that will eventually deliver ultra-broadband mobile access to more than 40% of the Thai population.
 
Deployment of the 100 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) optical network is already under way in Bangkok, with expansion to other parts of Thailand to continue throughout 2014, Alcatel-Lucent said in a statement.
 
Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
Thailand currently has more than 93 million mobile subscribers, or approximately 1.3 mobile devices for everyone in its total population of 68.4 million people.
 
Along with the addressing annual domestic data subscriber growth of 17% in 2013, the new dtac network will also be able to handle the large number of tourists visiting Thailand, generating even more data traffic, Alcatel-Lucent said.
 
“This is the first deployment of 100G GMPLS in Thailand, which enables us to offer our expanding roster of customers, and especially smartphone users, the best possible service,” said Panya Vechbanyongratana, senior vice president of the Network Operations Division at dtac.
 
“Alcatel-Lucent’s technology will also allow us to make a smooth and cost-effective transition to 4G when the time is right,” he added.
 
dtac is deploying Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) converged Wave Division Multiplexing/Optical Transport Network (WDM/OTN) platform first in Bangkok.
 
The new optical network will support dtac’s mobile subscription growth rate of 6% per year plus the large number of visitors bringing their own devices into the country, providing all users with fast broadband needed for increasingly sophisticated high-bandwidth mobile services such as streaming video and data-sensitive applications.
 
dtac is also deploying Alcatel-Lucent’s intelligent generalised multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS) Control Plane that ensures automated network operation and the highest level of service protection for maximum reliability.
 
“Our 100G technology, which is proven in the global market, is allowing dtac to greatly expand the capacity of its network and improve customer experience while decreasing its total cost of ownership,” said Sebastien Laurent, president and managing director for Alcatel-Lucent in Thailand.
 
“At the same time, we are supplying dtac with a platform that is flexible enough to expand capacity further to 4G speeds down the road,” he added.
 
Related Stories:
 
LTE ushers in new challenges for operators: Alcatel-Lucent
 
Alcatel-Lucent introduces new fiber optic tech
 
Working on the next-gen Internet
 
To feed web-hungry masses, Telenor expands Opera partnership
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.