True to offer Pay TV via mobile phone

Non Ingkutanon, True Corp's deputy director for broadband service, yesterday said TrueVisions subscribers wishing to benefit had to sign up for True broadband Internet and would need a special set-top-box at home in order to access the pay-TV programmes via the Wi-Fi public wireless Internet access service.

TrueVisions will also beam its programmes via the third-generation (3G) mobile broadband network once its sister company, True Move, gets its 3G network up and running.

All cellular operators are waiting for the National Telecommunica-tions Commission (NTC) to award 2.1-gigahertz spectrum licences for offering 3G service. Licensing is expected in the middle of next

year.

The NTC has already given the go-ahead for True Move to roll out 650 3G base stations across the country, using the company's 800-megahertz spectrum.

The mobile pay-TV programme service is one of the company's "3G killer applications", said Non.

TrueVisions has about 1.2 million subscribers, while True Move has around 12 million.

The True Group is showcasing its technologies at ITU Telecom Asia 2008 at Impact Muang Thong Thani. The ICT technology fair started on Monday and ends on Saturday.

True's booth was designed with the theme of High Speed Oasis, where visitors can access WI-Fi and use a giant touch-screen Internet box and a touch-screen jukebox.