Advanced Info Service

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Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited
Company typePublic
SETADVANC
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded24 April 1985; 38 years ago (24 April 1985)[1]
FounderThaksin Shinawatra
HeadquartersPhaya Thai, Bangkok, Thailand[2]
Area served
Thailand
Key people
ProductsMobile network, Internet service provider, Internet TV
ServicesMobile telephony, Internet
RevenueIncrease 180.89 billion baht (2019)[3]
Increase 37.40 billion baht (2019)[3]
Increase 31.19 billion baht (2019)[3]
Total assetsDecrease 289.67 billion baht (2019)[3]
Total equityIncrease 69.39 billion baht (2019)[3]
Number of employees
10,586+ (2013)[4]
ParentIntouch Holdings
SubsidiariesTriple T Broadband (3BB)
JASIF (Jasmine Broadband Internet Infrastructure Fund) (19%)
Websitewww.ais.th/en/

Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) is Thailand's largest GSM mobile phone operator with 39.87 million customers as of Q3 2016.[5][failed verification] Founded in April 1985, AIS started off as a computer rental business.[6] In October 1990, it launched analog 900 MHz mobile phone services with a 20-year monopoly concession from the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), and later became the first company allowed to operate on the GSM-900 frequency.[7] It acquired Shinawatra Paging in June 1992.[citation needed]

The company is controlled by the Intouch Holdings (formerly Shin Corporation), headed by Temasek Holdings, a Singapore government-owned agency. AIS listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 5 November 1991 (1991-11-05).[8] As of 23 December 2011, Intouch holds 40.45 percent of the shares of the company and Singapore Telecommunications (also majority-held by Temasek) together with Thai Trust Fund and OCBC Nominees holds a 23.32 percent stake.[9][10][11]

Temasek bought the AIS brand through the 2006 acquisition of the Shin Corporation from ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.[12]

In February 2014, in a conflict between the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PRDC) and Shinawatra, the PDRC called for a boycott of AIS, wrongly believing it to be owned by the Shinawatra family.[13]

Subsidiaries[edit]

  • Advanced Contact Center Company Limited (ACC) – operate AIS Call Center 1175 and 1148
  • Advanced Datanetwork Communications Company Limited (ADC) – provide online data communication service via telephone lines under the name "Datanet", licensed by TOT
  • DataNetwork Solutions Company Limited (DNS) – provide online data communication service via telephone lines under the name "Datanet" in the provincial area
  • mPay – payment processing and e-wallet service

mPay[edit]

mPay, an AIS subsidiary, is a payment processor and one of Thailand's three major payment service providers.[14] Its partners include CIMB[15] and 2C2P.[16]

According to a 2014 article in The Nation, mPay has around 1.6 million registered users, of which roughly 1.2 million are end-users and 400,000 are mPay agents. 150,000 of mPay's end-users use the service monthly, spending on average 30,000 baht.[17] In November 2015, four million people in Thailand used mPay,[18] and in August 2013, mPay had around 700 merchant partners.[19]

Services and coverage[edit]

As of August 2019, AIS is the largest network in Thailand, with 40.1 million subscribers.[20] In addition to post pay services, AIS offers prepaid services under the 1-2-Call brand.

Currently (2020) data is sold in time-based, volume-based and unlimited packages.

AIS operates 2G , 3G WCDMA/HSPA+, LTE, 5G NR, NB-IoT, and eMTC networks.

Frequencies used by AIS's Network in Thailand
Frequency Frequency
band
Frequency
width
(MHz)
Generation Radio interface Notes
700 MHz 28/n28 15 4G & 5G LTE & NR
900 MHz 5 2G GSM/GPRS/EDGE
900 MHz 8 10 3G UMTS/HSPA
900 MHz 8 10 4G LTE
1800 MHz 3 20 4G LTE (main frequency)
2100 MHz 1 10 3G UMTS/HSPA
2100 MHz 1 20 4G LTE
2600 MHz 41/n41 100 (TDD) 4G & 5G LTE & NR dynamic spectrum sharing
26 GHz n258 1200 5G NR

Wi-Fi hotspots[edit]

AIS owns and operates more than 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots under the name "AIS SUPER WIFI."

Next G[edit]

In 2017 AIS announced it has teamed up with Samsung Electronics to combine Wi-Fi and LTE in a gigabit-speed mobile service called AIS Next G. The new network is estimated to be 15 times faster than the existing LTE and four times faster than the tri-band LTE-A, the fastest wireless network currently available in Thailand.

AIS Play[edit]

AIS also provides online multiplatform entertainment, business and financial services called AIS Play, launched on 1 February 2017. AIS Play was the first Thai OTT TV with 4K resolution and VOD.

There are over 100 free-to-air channels, including some local channels, available to stream.

In 2021 AIS partnered with Thai League 1, Thailand's top-tier football league, to broadcast their matches through their AIS Play application. The deal covered the whole 2021–2022 season and also included matches played in Thai League 2 and Thai League 3. Additionally, the Thai FA CUP was also broadcast on AIS Play.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Advanced Info Service (2010). Annual Registration Statements 2009 (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  2. ^ "Contact us". Advanced Info Service PLC. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "ADVANC: ADVANCED INFO SERVICE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED: Financial data" (PDF). AIS. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. ^ Staff & Human Resource Development Archived 20 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Investor Site – AIS
  5. ^ Sirivish Toomgum (September 2011). "AIS to double 3G users". The Nation. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  6. ^ Job TopGun,[1] Archived 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Advanced Info Service PLC
  7. ^ AIS corporate website, click on "About AIS", "Company profile", and then "1990"[additional citation(s) needed]
  8. ^ "ADVANC Company Profile". Stock Exchange of Thailand. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  9. ^ "Page 42 – Shareholding structure – AIS 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Shin to sell more of AIS to Singtel". The Nation. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  11. ^ "ADVANC Major Shareholder". Stock Exchange of Thailand. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Thaksin helps himself". The Economist. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  13. ^ "PDRC targets Shinawatra interests". Bangkok Post. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  14. ^ "E-wallet key service as True Money eyes 15% growth". The Nation. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  15. ^ "CIMB Thai to use mPay for its Beat Savings mobile service". The Nation. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  16. ^ "unk". 2C2P. Retrieved 20 September 2016.[not specific enough to verify]
  17. ^ Pornwasin, Asina (18 March 2014). "Cashing in on a cashless society". The Nation. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Mobile networks team up for e-payment". Bangkok Post. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  19. ^ "Opening the electronic wallet". Bangkok Post. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  20. ^ "DTAC Slow Plays 3g Roll Out". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 15 March 2013.

External links[edit]