Somchai Lertsutiwong, vice president of the AIS wireless service business, said the company had been working with several radio stations to create new channels for listening to radio over the general packet radio service (GPRS) network, which now covers the entire country.

This is a different kind of service to the way people used to listen to radio on their handsets, which has involved using a radio tuner on their mobiles to tune into analogue radio.

The difference now is that the stations will be broadcast through digital data on the GPRS network, which means music can be transmitted even when people are out of the existing analogue broadcast coverage area.

Instead of listening to analogue radio though transmissions available in limited areas, especially in Bangkok, music lovers will not miss favourite programmes.

"Now we are negotiating with several radio stations which broadcast their programmes over the Internet, and we want to try something new," said Somchai.

AIS itself plans to establish a new server specifically to provide radio on mobile phones. Software installed in the server will convert analogue waves into digital data, transmitting it through the AIS GPRS network.

People who want to use the service will not have to pay extra for it. They just have to pay the regular GPRS service charge.

Somchai said AIS had several GPRS packages to suit customers' requirements, such as the Bt50 per month package which provides 10 hours of GPRS, instead of using the GPRS service at a rate of Bt1 per minute.

"We cannot yet reveal which radio stations will join us in providing digital radio via mobile handsets over the GPRS network, but the move is part of our strategy to become a powerful new channel for music lovers," said Somchai.

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation