TSI signs multi-service CDMA wireless contract with The Communications Authority of Thailand.

TSI Telecommunication Services announced today that it has signed a multi-service contract with The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) that will enable seamless international roaming services for wireless users traveling to Thailand, and enable CAT subscribers to roam to other CDMA networks. With TSI’s services, CDMA subscribers traveling to and from Thailand are now able to use a single handset and mobile number to make and receive calls, as well as send and receive Short Messages (SMS) on a number of CDMA networks across Thailand, the Asia Pacific region, North America and Latin America.

Picture above shows cdmaCoonect : CDMA carriers are one step closer to creating seamless service for their subscribers thanks to a simplified solution developed to address the complicated issue of international roaming - cdmaConnect.TM GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. (GTE TSI) along with CIBERNET and CDMA Development Group (CDG) have created cdmaConnect, a one-stop, end-to-end roaming solution for CDMA carriers.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thailand is one of the most popular tourism destinations in Southeast Asia. In 2001, visitors to Thailand totaled 10 million, many of whom are from Japan, China, Taiwan, the United States and Korea, where there is, or will be in the case of Taiwan, extensive CDMA coverage. This points to the huge potential of CDMA roaming traffic to Thailand. The tourism authority also expects Thailand to attract about 11.13 million visitors in 2002.

“Yankee Group reports that the number of Asia Pacific wireless subscribers will reach 411 million in 2002 and is expected to grow to 691 million in the next three years. With Thailand experiencing an annual wireless subscriber growth rate of 125 percent, it’s apparent that Thailand is one of the fastest growing wireless markets in Southeast Asia,” commented Michael O’Brien, vice president-marketing, TSI. “These numbers illustrate that the time is right for TSI to expand its presence in Southeast Asia and continue to solve interoperability issues.”

“With the partnership with TSI, we can efficiently offer CDMA international roaming services to serve not only our subscribers but also the potential roamers from countries where CDMA technology has been introduced like Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, etc. With the roaming services, we can meet our goals to expand our CDMA coverage area by partnering with roaming partners, and also allow our subscribers to use a single mobile handset and mobile number to make and receive calls while abroad. In addition, it brings us the competitiveness in providing CDMA services locally,” said Kittin Udomkiat, senior executive vice president of telecommunications system, the Communications Authority of Thailand.

TSI will supply CAT with a multi-service offering that includes clearinghouse services for roaming revenue settlement and exchange; ANSI-41 signaling interoperability; a near-real time, online customer management application used to track and troubleshoot roamers; and SMS routing, which will enable SMS mobile termination for CAT subscribers who are roaming internationally.