Broadband, cloud services, IPTV on aggressive 'to-do' list

TOT is preparing to invest more than Bt10 billion to support the National Broadband Project and to prepare for new business ventures.

It plans to announce Internet data-centre (IDC) and cloud-computing services and will also launch Internet-protocol television (IPTV) before the end of this year. It is also looking for business partners to develop content to support the digital TV channel.

TOT's executive vice president of product development Jantana Techasirinugool said the company expected to invest about Bt10 billion before the end of 2014 to support the National Broadband Project by laying down infrastructure to develop a fibre-to-the-x (FTTX) network capable of delivering broadband to about 500,000 ports in Thailand's major cities. At present, TOT's FTTX network connects to about 10,000 ports in major cities.

Jantana said TOT - a state-owned telecom company - would invest about Bt300 million this year to lay down an information-technology infrastructure in order to provide commercial Internet data-centre and cloud-computing services. It will work with business partners such as Internet service providers to provide the services in the third quarter of this year.

She said that under the cloud-computing service, TOT would provide applications-as-a-service, such as accounting applications, security, inventory, enterprise resource planning and human-resource applications, focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies.

"I think we will be able to provide the Internet data-centre service in the third quarter and cloud-computing services by the end of this year. Cloud-computing customers will pay service fees for on-demand services, or a license-fee charge. Moreover, we will develop, and are looking for, new applications to support the government sector," Jantana said.

She said TOT was planning to launch Internet-protocol TV before the end of this year. It is now testing the system and is negotiating with business partners who will develop content to support the new digital TV channel. Future plans extend to shopping online via the IPTV channel.

"We are currently piloting and testing the IPTV project, which will enable our business to expand into multimedia services, new media and providing customised, personalised services to meet the demands of customers in the near future," she said.

TOT is also focusing on its online-gaming business. It now offers four casual online games: Tales Runner, WeDO, Cloud Nine and HAVE, and plans to introduce one more new game before the end of this year. It currently has about 5 million online-game users and expects that number to reach 6 million by the end of this year, with annual revenue from online gaming rising to about Bt200 million.