Some observers of the telecom industry see this team-up between the largest cellular operator, AIS, and the second-largest, DTAC, as a way of competing against the fast-rising and third-largest player, True Corp.
All three operators recently made VoLTE available to their subscribers, but initially only for calls within their own network. The technology enables high-quality voice connections and high-definition video calls.
Sitthichoke Nopchinabutr, DTAC chief marketing officer, and Titipong Khiewpaisal, AIS senior vice president for consumer marketing and sales, issued a joint statement yesterday about the move. They said it marked a significant collaboration offering VoLTE service between two telecom leaders for the first time not only in Thailand but also Asean.
True chief commercial officer Kittinut Tikawan said yesterday that VoLTE was an international standard that should be equally accessible by all consumers. True is confident that in the near future the company will be able to strike a similar collaboration with both AIS and DTAC, he added.
The team-up between AIS and DTAC is also expected to pave the way for the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in Thailand by all three operators this month. The two new iPhones support VoLTE technology.
AIS and DTAC customers with compatible mobile devices can call each other via VoLTE from anywhere in the country where 4G is available and will experience premium-quality voice and video calls for the same price as a regular phone call. The service is available for both prepaid and contracted customers.
AIS-DTAC VoLTE voice calls became available yesterday, while video calls will be available from next Tuesday.