ASINA PORNWASIN THE NATION THE COU

ASINA PORNWASIN
THE NATION
THE COUNTRY'S latest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service provider, The White Space, aims to be the market leader by the end of this year, despite having launched just two months ago.
The company was founded by a group of former executives of Total Access Communication (DTAC) who have long experience in mobile and telecom business.
The company's focus is on the prepaid market, which is by far the biggest slice of the mobile pie, said Chaiyod Chirabowornkul, chief executive of The White Space.
"Out of roughly 100 million sims in the market, around 80 to 90 per cent are prepaid sims with average revenue per user [ARPU] of about Bt170, split equally between voice and data usage" he said.
There is still plenty of MVNO market opportunity in Thailand, where the mobile market is mature with a penetration rate of 130 per cent, he added.
The MVNO business model is growing well in an already saturated market because the big players' focus in not on gaining more subscribers, but on increasing ARPU, which creates a gap in the market, he explained.
"The focus of the giants is not on small pockets, as ours is. Our key selling point is being an eco[nomy] operator," the CEO said.
Launched in March, the company has already shifted 200,000 of its Penguin Sim cards to the market to around 100,000 users, while another 100,000 sims are in its distribution channels.
The company aims to lead the MVNO market, which has 33 operators but only 10 active ones, with a conservative sales target of 300,000 to 500,000 sims by the end of the year, Chaiyod said.
The strength of The White Space is that even though it is a newcomer, its founders are far from new to the telecom and mobile market.
The company has achieved success in a short period of time, only two months after launching its Penguin Sim, not only in regard to the number of cards sold through its channels, which have 12,0000 outlets, but also in terms of gaining wide brand awareness.
"Because we [the founders] aren't new to the market, our business partners, and especially channels, know us well and they are confident about doing business with us. And it's not only our partners [that have aided our success to date], as our support team is also key to our success. We have a 24/7 support team to help users through our call centre.
"Moreover, we have a wide range of choices for users when topping up. Currently, we have around 200,000 points for topping up money into a Penguin Sim, both online and offline. And importantly, our signal and speed are crucial factors, as well," the chief executive said.
Penguin Sim runs on CAT Telecoms' 3G network on the 850MHz spectrum, which now has 15,000 stations throughout the country.
The company's strategy is to offer one price for both voice and data. Voice calls cost Bt0.25 per second, while data costs Bt0.25 per megabyte.
"From our survey before launching the service, we found that around 70 per cent of mobile users have calls logged at less than one minute. Our service helps them immediately save 35 per cent for voice calls," he said.
For data usage, users spend only Bt1 to consume 4MB, which means that if they use up to 80MB, they are charged just Bt20.
"If, in a single day, once a user consumes more than 80MB data, they will still be charged at only Bt20. Moreover, we have a promotional campaign for heavy users who consume over 80MB a day, whereby they have to pay only Bt300 per month," he explained.
Even though Penguin Sim is an 'eco-sim' that allows users to enjoy mobile Internet with a maximum speed of 512 kilobits per second, it is designed to serve five key services that people usually use each day Facebook, LINE, Instagram, YouTube and Google - he added.
"In the initial stage of launching, we have doubled the maximum speed for the first 10,000 sims per province, to 1 megabit per second," he said.
Chaiyod also said the beauty of having Penguin Sim in the market is that it gives users a wider choice for their daily mobile Internet usage.
Under the MVNO business model, the company does not have to foot a huge network investment cost, therefore it can utilise its investment budget for the benefit of customers, such as by offering a better tariff, service and support, he added.
In the near future, The White Space plans to launch new products and services for market segmentation, and it is currently working with business partners, such as start-ups, to develop such new offerings, the CEO said.
However, in the long term, if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission regulates the market so that mobile operators with 4G licences make spare frequency available for MVNO service providers, The White Space will offer 4G servic