Advanced Info Service
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] 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.
Type | Public |
---|---|
SET: ADVANC | |
Industry | Telecommunications |
Founded | 24 April 1985[1] |
Founder | Thaksin Shinawatra |
Headquarters | Phaya Thai, Bangkok, Thailand[2] |
Area served | Thailand |
Key people |
|
Products | Mobile network, Internet service provider, Internet TV |
Services | Mobile telephony, Internet |
Revenue | 180.89 billion baht (2019)[3] |
37.40 billion baht (2019)[3] | |
31.19 billion baht (2019)[3] | |
Total assets | 289.67 billion baht (2019)[3] |
Total equity | 69.39 billion baht (2019)[3] |
Number of employees | 10,586+ (2013)[4] |
Parent | Intouch Holdings |
Subsidiaries | Triple T Broadband (3BB) JASIF (Jasmine Broadband Internet Infrastructure Fund) (19%) |
Website | www |
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 .[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]
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
- 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
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
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.
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
AIS owns and operates more than 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots under the name "AIS SUPER WIFI."
Next G
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
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
- Advanced Info Service (2010). Annual Registration Statements 2009 (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- "Contact us". Advanced Info Service PLC. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "ADVANC: ADVANCED INFO SERVICE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED: Financial data" (PDF). AIS. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- Staff & Human Resource Development Archived 20 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Investor Site – AIS
- Sirivish Toomgum (September 2011). "AIS to double 3G users". The Nation. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- Job TopGun, Archived 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Advanced Info Service PLC
- AIS corporate website, click on "About AIS", "Company profile", and then "1990"
- "ADVANC Company Profile". Stock Exchange of Thailand. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- "Page 42 – Shareholding structure – AIS 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- "Shin to sell more of AIS to Singtel". The Nation. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- "Thaksin helps himself". The Economist. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- "PDRC targets Shinawatra interests". Bangkok Post. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- "E-wallet key service as True Money eyes 15% growth". The Nation. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- "CIMB Thai to use mPay for its Beat Savings mobile service". The Nation. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- "unk". 2C2P. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- Pornwasin, Asina (18 March 2014). "Cashing in on a cashless society". The Nation. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- "Mobile networks team up for e-payment". Bangkok Post. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- "Opening the electronic wallet". Bangkok Post. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- "DTAC Slow Plays 3g Roll Out". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 15 March 2013.