• Critical areas can be equipped with additional cell sites in only 24 hours to support the authorities’ containment efforts
• Two field hospitals in Bangkok and Chiang Mai have already received mobile cell sites and 700 MHz sites to deliver high-speed internet to healthcare workers and patients.

 

April 12, 2021 – dtac has set up a rapid response team to enable the deployment of high-speed internet within 24 hours. The team is focused on field hospitals in support of governmental authorities and public health agencies’ containment of COVID-19. Using its high-coverage 700 MHz spectrum, dtac can deploy an array of primary and secondary mobile network expansions alongside mobile cell sites to rapidly deliver high-speed internet in critical areas.

dtac is closely monitoring containment plans from the Ministry of Interior’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the Ministry of Public Health, and provincial authorities. Based on this, dtac has sent engineers to survey network requirements and assess suitable support solutions for each provincial candidate location for field hospitals.

The planned field hospitals will have capacities ranging from 100 – 500 beds. For example, the Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital in Bangkok will have 500 beds, 470 for Thammasat Chalermprakiat Hospital in Pathum Thani province, and 400 for the Ratchaburi Central Sports Stadium by Military Engineer Department. Field hospitals with as many as 1,000 beds are possible, such as the one at Wattana Factory, Samut Sakhon province.

Mr. Prathet Tankuranun, Chief Technology Officer, Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said, “To support the frontline workers battling COVID-19, dtac is committed to providing reliable high-speed internet where it is needed most. At this difficult time, uninterrupted voice and data communication is more critical than ever to connect healthcare professionals, patients and their loved ones.”

dtac has already deployed 700 MHz cell sites for high-speed internet to support the field hospital at His Majesty the King’s 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary Building of the Chiang Mai International Exhibition & Convention Center. Initially, the field hospital will have a capacity of 280 beds for COVID-19 patients. This location is already covered by dtac’s 4G and 4G TDD network and the addition of a 700 MHz network will further improve outdoor and indoor coverage. dtac has also deployed a mobile cell site to support the field hospital at the First Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment of Bangkok, which deployed 200 beds.

Furthermore, dtac has also set up contingency measures for its Network Operations Center (NOC) to ensure a superlative network experience 24/7.