A group of former Dtac executives have launched a new MVNO on CAT Telecom’s 850-MHz network.
New entrant White Space has launched a budget carrier, Penguin, with a simple low-cost price plan promising unlimited 512kbps Internet access capped at just $0.56 (20 baht) a day and calls at $0.007 (0.25 Baht) a second.
Chaiyod Chirabowornkul, WhiteSpace CEO, called his offering an eco offering targeted at the first-time smartphone user who wants a simple, uncomplicated plan. Penguin has set a target of 300,000 subscribers by the end of 2016.
Pakron Pannachet, White Space Chief Marketing Officer said, “Penguin SIM does not impose speed caps on mobile internet service but provides sufficient speed for using popular social media applications and websites.” He also called Penguin a living, accessible and loving brand.
Allan Rasmussen from consultancy Yozzo told TelecomAsia that he was pleased to see Penguin as one of the few operators he has seen setting realistic targets. However, it was ironic that the ex-Dtac team chose CAT over their former employer as the host network.
Rasmussen noted that last week saw the launch of the MVNO Club in Thailand, consisting of four MVNOs: 168, Data CDMA Communication, i-mobile Plus and WhiteSpace Co. All four MVNOs use, or are about to use CAT Telecom's 3G service on the 850-MHz spectrum. CAT has said it can only offer capacity for four million users which means the industry will need to focus on the limited capacity soon.
Rasmussen has repeatedly pointed out that despite licence rules requiring all the new networks to open up their networks to MVNOs, none of the them are willing to do so.
Penguin brings the number of MVNO licensees in Thailand to 32 though their market share is negligible compared to the big three operators.