Motorola wins $120 million cellular network expansion in Thailand

Business Wire, Jan 22, 1997

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 1997-- Motorola's Asia Pacific Cellular Infrastructure Group (APCIG) has been awarded a $120 million expansion of Total Access Communications (TAC) Public Company Ltd.'s cellular network in Thailand.

TAC has ordered the expansion to increase overall network capacity of the 800 MHz system and extend geographic coverage in the capital city of Bangkok and Thailand's provinces.

Motorola will upgrade many of the existing analog cell sites to a digital-ready Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone Service (NAMPS) platform with Linear Power Amplifiers (LPA). NAMPS triples network capacity compared to AMPS. The LPAs, designed and built by Motorola's Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG), provide convenient remote tuning and space efficient use of more voice channels.

The expansion project will be completed early this year and will enable TAC to grow its network to 600,000 subscribers.

Motorola has been a supplier of cellular system equipment to Thailand since 1987. In 1995, Motorola won a $160 million contract to expand and upgrade the TAC's NAMPS network and in 1996 won a $14 million contract to expand the operator's DCS 1800 (Digital Communication System) network, the first Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)-based network deployed at 1.8 GHz outside of Europe.

"Since the early 1990's we have been committed to working hand-in-hand with TAC to build one of the most successful cellular operations in the Asia Pacific region," said Richard Sell, corporate vice president and general manager of Motorola's APCIG. "This latest expansion of its Motorola NAMPS-based network will enable TAC to continue to meet its aggressive operating goal of attracting new subscribers in Thailand's urban, suburban and rural markets."

Motorola APCIG will deploy its digital-ready SC(TM)9600 base station equipment, which supports AMPS, NAMPS and CDMA (code division multiple access) radio technologies within the same base station, to expand the network in the densely populated cities.

Funding for the project is being provided to TAC by an Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) long-term direct loan, the first of its kind by Eximbank has provided to a cellular operator in Asia.

TAC is a major cellular operator in Thailand and is a subsidiary of the United Communications Industry Public Co. Ltd. (UCOM Group), one of Thailand's leading telecommunications companies, which is traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. TAC provides cellular network service in the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands, under the names WorldPhone 800 and WorldPhone 1800 respectively. In addition, the company also operates paging, mobile data and trunked radio network services.

Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems, components and services. Motorola's 1996 sales were $28 billion.

CONTACT: Motorola CIG, Arlington Heights

Scott Wyman, 847/632-4691