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| Press Release |
November 9,
2007 |
| WILLCOM and Thailand's AWC Agree to Jointly Consider Introduction of Next-Generation PHS
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At a signing ceremony today in Bangkok, WILLCOM, Inc. and Asia Wireless Communication Co., Ltd. (AWC) concluded an agreement to jointly consider to evaluate the feasibility of the introduction of "Next-Generation PHS" in Thailand.
AWC is a PHS operator that provides roaming service between Thailand and Japan; it started PHS service in Bangkok in November 1999, and partnered with WILLCOM in December 2003. Now, the two companies will collaborate to consider issues, such as WILLCOM’s technical support and AWS's reviewing the feasibility of commercialization, in order to evaluate the feasibility of the introduction in Thailand of Next-Generation PHS, which WILLCOM is working to develop commercially as the successor to PHS.
PHS, which was developed in Japan, has currently spread to Thailand, China, and Taiwan in Asia, and to Latin America. There are about 100 million PHS subscribers worldwide. Expectations are high regarding the development of Next-Generation PHS as the successor to PHS in the countries where PHS has become widespread. Accordingly, PHS technology is being standardized by the PHS MoU Group, and has been recommended by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) as a BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) system.
Next-Generation PHS is a transmission system that can achieve a high speed of at least 20 Mbps, by adding the latest technologies OFDM and MIMO to current PHS technology.
WILLCOM has steadily expanded its cover area nationwide through the current microcell system for PHS, which comprises about 160,000 access points. Based on this proven record, by developing Next-Generation PHS using a similar microcell system, WILLCOM intends to achieve efficient use of the available frequencies.
Looking ahead, WILLCOM will proactively work to ensure that Next-Generation PHS becomes widespread internationally.
Reference:
| Development at AWC of Thailand |
| January 1999: |
Starts PHS service in Thailand |
| March 2003: |
Agrees with WILLCOM (former DDI Pocket) on how to collaborate to commercialize an international roaming service |
| December 2003: |
Starts to provide an international roaming service between Thailand and Japan |
| November 2007: |
Signs an agreement to jointly consider introduction of "Next-Generation PHS" |
| Outline of AWC of Thailand |
| Name: |
Asia Wireless Communication, Co., Ltd (AWC) |
| Location: |
Bangkok, Thailand |
| Date of Establishment: |
March 1996 |
| Business: |
PHS service |
| No. of Subscribers: |
Approx. 300,000 (as of the end of October 2007) |
| Website: |
http://www.wepct.com |
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