Meeting customer’s needs is crucial to effective digital connectivity and a seamless online experience. Today, most end users rely primarily on wireless mobile connectivity at home, at work and on the go. Failures in the communications network immediately effect users and those carriers that perform quality checking, proactively respond to problems and resolve issues quickly are the most dominant. The success of Thailand’s largest carrier, Advanced Info Service (AIS), is based on 100 percent com-mitment to the customer and trouble-shooting problems before they reach customers. As the leading mobile communications provider in Thailand, AIS is focused on bringing new innovations to the fixed broadband sector and elevating the overall quality of service for its customers. Thanit Chayaboonthanit, Acting MD at Fixed Broadband of AIS, joined Win Win Live for a dialogue with Light Reading’s Contributing Editor Robert Clark, to share the company’s successful deploy-ment strategies. In this article, we look at the evolution of fixed broadband, the importance of last mile quality checking and the use of cutting-edge technologies to improve customer experience management, such as AI, machine learning (ML) and big data. AIS: Making fixed broadband goals a reality To gain a better sense of the scope of online coverage for businesses and individual consumers, it’s important to first understand the capabilities of fixed broadband. The technology ensures reliable high-speed data transmissions to homes and businesses through T1, cable, DSL and FIOS hardware. These fixed networks achieve downstream speeds in excess of 256 kbit/s and allow customers to ac-cess the internet from stationary locations, such as business establishments, industrial settings and homes. Moreover, fixed networks allow consumers to reliably access the internet and maintain high availa-bility and consistency, which is crucial for today’s advanced applications and complex technologies. Maximizing broadband infrastructure use is a key approach for carriers and other infrastructure in-vestors to achieve the necessary ROI to make broadband rollouts and operating models sustainable. AIS launched its first broadband initiative in 2015. Since then, the company has simplified the broadband experience for its customers. This approach is especially important due to the number of rural areas and remote locations that require connectivity across Thailand. By promoting a best-in-class customer experience, AIS also boosts demand for 5G connectivity and installations of 5G networks in industrial and corporate settings. It represents a win-win experience where customers achieve consistently high data throughput levels and AIS can increase its revenue streams through new innovations. A comprehensive approach to end user connectivity When it comes to wireless mobile communications, end users generally experience stable and pre-dictable roaming capabilities. For example, the loss of one wireless base station is instantly compen-sated for with a nearby backup station. As a result, end users are generally unaware of interruptions. However, those disturbances are magnified in fixed broadband scenarios where customers immedi-ately notice disruptions. To offset these shortfalls and ensure consistency, AIS promotes a number of proactive approaches. For example, the company employs last mile quality checking to detect anom-alies and schedule repairs before problems effect customers. AIS goes further with its 100% customer commitment to resolve issues within a 24-hour service recovery window. Today, end users typically rely on WiFi roaming capabilities even within fixed broadband environ-ments. However, inconsistent Wi-Fi technology often becomes the source of coverage problems. As a solution, AIS provides its Super MESH Wi-Fi package and supports future changes in technology. The company is also the first provider in Thailand to offer dual-band Wi-Fi which provides custom-ers with two Wi-Fi networks as well as Wi-Fi 6, a substantial upgrade over previous versions of the wireless protocol. Finally, the carrier provides Wi-Fi checking to track wireless service within customers’ homes. Each of these networking advances represent the depth and breadth of the AIS commitment to innovation. In the future, the company is committed to expanding and accelerating its efforts in emerging fields, such as 5G-enabled fully connected factories, XR services and autonomous vehicles, working with partners to develop new capabilities.
