DTAC Upgrade

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Dodger
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Dodger »

I wonder if AIS will be following suit.
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Gaybutton
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

Dodger wrote:I wonder if AIS will be following suit.
There's one way to find out - the obvious way - call them and ask.

If you do (or anyone else does), please post what they tell you so that AIS (1-2-Call) users will know what to expect and perhaps when to expect it.
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Gaybutton
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

An article about the upgrade appears in today's Bangkok Post. Apparently this move on the part of DTAC has generated a legal dispute. Meanwhile, it seems to me that a legal dispute now is rather a moot point since most people, such as me, whose telephone numbers are affected have most likely already made the switch.

I'm not sure what the problem is. The legal dispute seems like a non-issue issue to me, based on a technicality.

The only reason I can see for serious complaint would be the necessity for people who live nowhere near a DTAC shop or are incapacitated to have to physically go to a DTAC shop to make the switch. I don't see why DTAC couldn't have come up with alternative ways to make the switch.
____________________________________________________

Dtac users 'must switch' to avoid service loss

14 Sep 2018

Almost 95,000 customers on Total Access Communication’s (Dtac) 850MHz mobile phone network must switch to use other spectrum services by midnight Saturday to keep using their services.

The announcement was made Thursday by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) following the commission’s decision on Wednesday not to offer a remedy period to Dtac customers after the network's 28-year concession expires on Sept 15.

The NBTC said that 94,625 customers of Dtac’s 850MHz network are required to switch to Dtac’s other spectrum or other mobile phone operators by the deadline, otherwise they will be unable to use the service anymore.

Dtac customers can check whether their numbers will be affected at *444#.

Dtac posted on its Facebook page Thursday that 99% of its 850MHz network customers would definitely continue using the service.

The company posted a Thai-language video explaining for the "unfortunate 94,625" users what to do to continue service after regulators cut access to the 850MHz spectrum at midnight Saturday.

The NBTC board on Wednesday voted 4-2 against Dtac’s remedy proposal.

NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the board found that offering a remedy period for Dtac would contravene Section 3 of the NBTC’s regulations, which allows for remedies only if a concession with substantial numbers of users ends without a timely auction by the NBTC before it expires. NBTC found the number of affected Dtac customers is not “substantial”.

The NBTC had also held an auction for the 900MHz spectrum to replace the 850MHz, which Dtac chose to be absent for.

Dtac has filed a petition for an injunction against NBTC’s decision. A court ruling is expected on Friday.

Story and video: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/te ... ticle_news
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Gaybutton
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

I tried the *444#

What happens is a text message is generated - in Thai.

I copied the Thai text and pasted it into Google Translate. The translation is not very good, but it was clear enough so that now I know my telephone number has been switched over to the 4G system and should work without any problems.

I'll know soon enough . . .
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by mahjongguy »

DTAC granted relief by Central Court until December 15.
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

Endangered DTAC Customers Get 3-Month Reprieve

By Jintamas Saksornchai

September 14, 2018

BANGKOK — A court on Friday ordered regulators to extend service for DTAC customers using an old slice of spectrum the company has lost the rights to.

Siding with the telecom, the Administrative Court said customers must be given until December before they are dropped, reversing a Wednesday order that it must cut them off Saturday. About 60,000 customers using 95,000 numbers are affected.

Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said it would comply with the order.

Two days ago, commissioners rejected the mobile network operator’s request to continue using part of the broadcast spectrum for the affected numbers, presumably attached to older phones that still use 2G service.

The regulator has said it denied the petition because not enough customers would be affected to justify an exception to DTAC’s expired license. The commission said it had notified the company well in advance to move the numbers to another frequency.

In its ruling, the court rejected the commission’s bases for refusing DTAC’s request.

The verdict said the frequency, mostly used for 2G services, is still vital in many remote areas. If urgent communication is needed, such as for medical emergencies, the damage could be fatal and beyond compensation.

It ordered service extended until Dec. 15.

DTAC president Alexandra Reich welcomed the decision and said the company would continue to notify the customers to move their numbers to higher frequencies as soon as possible.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/busi ... -reprieve/
____________________________________________

Court issues injunction protecting Dtac subscribers

September 14, 2018

The Central Administrative Court on Friday issued an injunction against the telecom regulator, allowing customers of Total Access Communication (Dtac) to continue using the 850MHz mobile phone spectrum for another three months.

The court order benefits about 95,000 Dtac subscribers, most of them using the 2G service and others for roaming.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) had planned cut off Dtac's access to the spectrum at midnight on Saturday. Dtac has been locked in a dispute with the telecom regulators over its access to the spectrum when its concession expires. The NBTC board on Thursday decided by a split vote not the allow the company any leeway when the 28-year contract ends on Sept 15.

The regulating agency cited Dtac's decision not to enter an auction for use of the 900MHz spectrum to replace the 850MHz frequency, which would have allowed the company to smoothly migrate the users.

DTAC decided to seek court help, citing the need for subscribers whose devices use the spectrum to be protected from having the signal cut off.

The court said in the injunction statement released after the ruling that Dtac had the right to protect the affected customers until Dec 15.

This means that Dtac subscribers using the 850MHz bandwidth have three months to switch to other spectrums operated by the company, or move to another provider.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... ubscribers
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Gaybutton
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

Now that my telephone is 4G - and a little 4G icon now appears on the home screen - you know what I notice about the difference in speed?

*- Nothing -*

If there is any really appreciable speed difference, with or without WiFi, I'm not noticing anything. Maybe I'm missing something, but with all the brouhaha about 4G, where's the big difference?
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mahjongguy
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by mahjongguy »

I don't think there are many situations where you would notice the higher speed. Maybe with big downloads? When streaming hi-res video?

For me, the best feature of 4G is improved voice quality when talking to another 4G customer. Unfortunately, even some of the better phones don't take full advantage of this ability.

But this action from DTAC, and AIS and True before them, isn't about improving any customer's user experience. It's about incremental changes in technology and government regulation of radio frequencies, managing and often profiting from them. In this case, it's getting the last licensees off a particular frequency that was allocated long ago to 2G mobile and will now be used for other purposes. That could be digital TV, emergency services, military purposes, etc.
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Gaybutton
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Re: DTAC Upgrade

Post by Gaybutton »

mahjongguy wrote:It's about incremental changes in technology . . .
I haven't checked, but I am wondering if there are any apps especially for 4G phones.

Meanwhile, with all the hype about how much better and faster 4G will be compared to 3G, I wish I could actually notice something that improved. So far, nothing.
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