Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) Thailand’s largest mobile operator, announced that Huawei is one of the companies bidding to build a 5G network.
AIS is in the final stage of selecting suppliers. Companies participating in the bid include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung.
AIS President Hui Weng Cheong said: “We are in the stage of selecting suppliers for the 5G core network, including suppliers from China and Europe.”
“When doing anything, we will send proposal requests to all five companies because we don’t want to pre-select.”
Reuters pointed out that Thailand is the oldest ally of the United States in Asia, but Thailand has not excluded Chinese suppliers from 5G infrastructure construction, but Thailand also said it will pay attention to security issues.
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| Image by Saveliy Morozov from Pixabay |
Hui Weng Cheong said that AIS plans to invest about 45 billion baht (about 1.42 billion US dollars) in infrastructure this year, and plans to set up the first 5G core network in Bangkok this month.
AIS obtained 23 5G spectrum licenses in the February auction, and its competitors PCL and Total Access Communication received 17 licenses and 2 licenses, respectively.
AIS announced last week that it has reached a partnership with Huawei to sell 5G mobile phones produced by Huawei.
Hui Weng Cheong said that the U.S. allegations about Huawei “have not been confirmed,” but AIS will protect ourselves by including “very important clauses that clarify what suppliers cannot do to protect ourselves”.
According to Reuters, last month, telecom operators in Singapore stated that they ultimately chose Nokia and Ericsson to build a 5G network instead of Huawei.
On July 14, the British Minister of Culture Oliver Dowden announced that the United Kingdom had decided to stop using Huawei equipment in 5G construction.