Issues of 3G/4G Build-Out: Ethernet Base Station Backhaul I

Last week I wrote about Thailand’s 3G spectrum auctions in Thailand Should Leapfrog 3G and Move Directly to 4G. Some readers disagreed, mostly on the grounds that 4G was not ready or that existing users of 3G-in-2G-spectrum would be upset that their 3G handset investment would be obsoleted sooner than expected.  I felt these comments somewhat missed the point I had hoped to make, and was therefore somewhat gratified when Don Sambandaraksa of the Bangkok Post supported the idea.

The comments to my original article, both positive and negative, got me thinking about the impediments that face a 4G deployment in Thailand. The one that is probably the easiest to address is the availability of nationwide Metro Ethernet. Read on as I explore this critical requirement of 4G mobile networks.

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More on Thailand Leapfrogging 3G to Build 4G Networks

Last week I wrote that Thailand should actively consider skipping 3G altogether in favor of a 4G network. Today’s Bangkok Post, in commentary by Don Sambandaraksa, Peering through the dust that’s settled over 3G, now that 3G spectrum auctions are tied up in litigation and TOT has been approved 19 million Baht to expand their 3G network.

In the commentary Sambandaraksa acknowledges that the 800 MHz spectrum currently used by CAT in service of their 3G CDMA network could also be used for 4G. He goes on to point out that DTAC also has an option to deploy LTE if they are granted a license concession n 1800 MHz. This clearly establishes that spectrum is not an impediment to deploying a 4G network. Thanks for your support, Don. But I beat you to it. Just kidding.

Certainly other concern exists, such as nationwide availability of Metro Ethernet for Base Station backhaul and reliable Internet access. I’ll be writing more on those topics soon.

TOT Allowed to Extend 3G Network Nationwide

With uncertainty prevailing over the future of 3G radio spectrum the Thai government has acted to press forward. The Nation reports that yesterday the Telecommunications Organization of Thailand (TOT) has been granted permission to extend their current 3G service to cover the entire country. TOT said a search for financing for the build-out will begin immediately.

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Thailand Should Leapfrog 3G and Move Directly to 4G

With disarray and delay dominating the day in Thailand’s Mobiles businesses it’s time for some out-of-the-box thinking. Various sources report that it could take Thai courts, legislators and regulators 2 years or more to sort out the current uncertainty concerning 3G spectrum.

This additional time must be viewed in the context that the first 3G networks deployed around 10 years ago and 3G has been the global standard for at least 6 or 7 years already. Launching a 3G network now, in 2010, would be a stunningly booring accomplishment that would hardly be noticed by the rest of the world. Such an announcement is likely to be lost among a sea of 4G launches and services. Thailand risks becoming the joke of the world’s media for being so late to the 3G party.

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Thailand’s 3G Auction Saga: The Hits Just Keep on Coming

The Nation reports that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has responded to Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) “you have no authority to auction 3G spectrum” lawsuit with a defiant “yes we do!”

You might recall that CAT last week filed an injunction with the Supreme Administrative Court to prevent the NTC from auctioning 3G spectrum to incumbent mobile operators AIS, DTAC and True Move. The Court granted that injunction on the basis of CAT’s claim that the 2007 constitution granted authority to allocate spectrum to a new, yet-to-be-created regulator called the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

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