The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
(BMA) and True Internet will continue jointly offering free Wi-Fi
service for residents of the capital under the Bangkok Wi-Fi project
for another three years, through April 29, 2015.
True will launch a similar free-service
model in other major provinces, in line with its plan to expand its
Wi-Fi network to cover 60 provinces this year from the present 40.
The Bangkok service covers about 20,000
spots across the city. It is available in two options. The first
offers maximum download/upload speeds of 2 megabits per second/512
kilobits per second and free usage of five hours per month. The other
provides a download/upload connection speed of 256kb/s and 128kb/s
respectively and unlimited usage.
The service can reach a total of
150,000 users per six months. Users need to register with the project
to receive passwords to log in to the service. They have to register
for a new password every six months.
Under the collaboration, True will also
expand the Wi-Fi network by 1,000 spots per year with the focus on
hospitals, public parks and schools.
Bangkok Governor MR
Sukhumbhand Paribatra and True Online chief commercial officer
Charoen Limkangwanmongkol signed the memorandum of understanding to
continue the project. True Internet is part of the True Online group.
The governor said the BMA had approached all Internet providers to
join this project, which is open for all to take part.
True is responsible for the cost of the
network installation, equipment maintenance cost, and related cost of
the project.The parties jointly initiated the Bangkok Wi-Fi project
three years ago on an exclusive basis. At that time the service could
serve a maximum of 100,000 users.
(Source: The Nation
News Paper)
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