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]
 | |
| Company 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][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
- 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.
