Thaicom Public Company Limited is a Thai satellite operator and provider of satellite and telecommunication services since 1991. The company operates a fleet of four satellites covering Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Thaicom is a subsidiary of Intouch Holdings PCL, Thailand's biggest telecommunications conglomerate.
The company's satellite project was named Thaicom by King Bhumibol.
Thailand-based Shinawatra Computer and Communications Co. Ltd. (later Intouch Holdings PLC) signed a US$100 million contract with Hughes Space and Communications Company Ltd. in 1991 to build Thailand's first communications satellite. Thaicom 1 was launched on 18 December 1993, carrying 12 C-band transponders and covering an area from Japan to Singapore.
The company became a listed company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 18 January 1994, and is officially traded under the symbol THCOM.
Since its establishment, the company has expanded its business activities to include Internet and telephone services, as well as direct to home (DTH) satellite TV services. As of 31 December 2011, Intouch, which is the company's major shareholder, holds 41.14% of the company's shares.[ needs update ]
Thaicom operates four satellites. The company also operates satellite ground facilities, including its satellite control center in Mueang Nonthaburi District, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand, and a teleport and DTH center in Lat Lum Kaeo District, Pathum Thani Province, Thailand.
On 1 January 2022, the company announced a new CEO in Patompob Suwansiri.
| Satellite | Manufacturer | Launch Date (UTC) | Rocket | Launch Site | Contractor | Longitude | Status | References |
| Thaicom 1 | Hughes Space Aircraft | 18 December 1993 |  Ariane 4 (44L) |  Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | 78.5° East (now 120° East) | Decommissioned | |
| Thaicom 2 | Hughes Space Aircraft | 8 October 1994 | Ariane 4 (44L) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | 78.5° East | Decommissioned | |
| Thaicom 3 | Aérospatiale, later Thales Alenia Space | 16 April 1997 | Ariane 4 (44LP) | Kourou ELA-2 | Arianespace | 78.5° East | Decommissioned (Deorbited: 2 October 2006) | |
| Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) | Space Systems/Loral, USA | 11 August 2005 | Ariane 5 EGS | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | 119.5° East | In Service | [1] |
| Thaicom 5 | Alcatel Alenia Space, France | 27 May 2006 | Ariane 5 ECA | Kourou ELA-3 | Arianespace | 78.5° East | Decommissioned | [2] |
| Thaicom 6 | Orbital Sciences Corporation | 6 January 2014 |  Falcon 9 v1.1 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | 78.5° East | In Service | [3] |
| Thaicom 7 (AsiaSat 6) | Space Systems/Loral, USA | 7 September 2014 | Falcon 9 v1.1 | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | 120° East | In Service | [4] |
| Thaicom 8 | Orbital ATK | 27 May 2016 | Falcon 9 FT | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 | SpaceX | 78.5° East | In Service |
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
Area served | Thailand and Cambodia |
| Parent | Thaicom DTV Services Ltd (Thailand) |
| Website | www |
The DTV Television Network is a major television broadcasting operated by Thaicom.
Modern telecommunications in Thailand began in 1875 with the deployment of the first telegraph service. Historically, the development of telecommunication networks in Thailand were in the hands of the public sector. Government organisations were established to provide telegraph, telephone, radio, and television services, and other government agencies, especially the military, still control a large estate of radio and television spectra. Private telecommunication operators initially acquired concession agreements with state enterprises. For mobile phone services, all the concessions have been amended by successive government to last 25 years have gradually ended in 2015. For other services, the concession terms and conditions vary, ranging from one to fifteen years. Nearly all of the concessions are build-operate-transfer (BTO) contracts. The private investor has to build all the required facilities and transfer them to the state before they can operate or offer services to public.
Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) is Thailand's largest GSM mobile phone operator with 39.87 million customers as of Q3 2016. Founded in April 1985, AIS started off as a computer rental business. In October 1990, it launched analog 900 MHz mobile phone services with a 20-year monopoly concession from the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), and later became the first company allowed to operate on the GSM-900 frequency. It acquired Shinawatra Paging in June 1992.
The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programmes in many Indian languages. Nearly 87% Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 900 channels of which 184 were pay channels. National channels operate in Hindi and English, in addition to channels in several other languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese, Gujarati, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Kashmiri, Konkani and Haryanvi, among others. The Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language television industries are by far the largest television industries in India.
FashionTV is an international fashion and lifestyle broadcasting channel. Founded in France in 1997, by its Polish-born president Michel Adam Lisowski, FashionTV is a widely distributed satellite channels in the world with 31 satellite offices and 2,000 cable systems. As of 2014, it had 400 million viewers around the globe. FashionTV is a multi-media platform offering global fashion reviews and it is independently owned and operated from the headquarters in London, Paris, Vienna and, Mumbai.
Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited, commonly known by its trade name BEXIMCO, is a Bangladeshi multinational conglomerate holding company, headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was founded in the early 1970s.
Intouch Holdings PCL is a Thai holding company which focuses on the telecommunication industry. It is the parent company of Advanced Info Service (AIS), the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand, and Thaicom, Thailand's satellite operator. It is listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand and is part of SET50 index.
The Fujisankei Communications Group, abbreviated FCG, is Japan’s largest media conglomerate. Its chairman is Hisashi Hieda. In 1991, it was the largest media company in the world the largest in Japan today. In the same year, the company's yearly revenue was $5 billion. Many of its affiliates are owned by Fuji Media Holdings, itself a member of the Fujisankei Communications Group.
Television in Bulgaria was introduced in 1959. Global players such as News Corporation, Modern Times Group, Central European Media Enterprises, Fox Broadcasting Company and others operate the biggest and most popular media outlets in the country.
Tata Play is an Indian Subscription based Satellite television (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A GSAT-10 and GSAT-24 satellites. Incorporated in 2005, it currently offers 630+ channels, 543 SD channels and 91 HD channels and services, along with many other value added services. Tata Play is the largest DTH service provider in India. As of March 2023, according to TRAI Tata Play serves 21.3 million subscribers which is 32.65% of total DTH users in India.
CAT Telecom Public Company Limited is the state-owned company that runs Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure, including its international gateways, satellite, and submarine cable networks connections. Since 2021 CAT Telecom became the National Telecom Public Company Limited after merging with TOT Public Company Limited.
BEC World Public Company Limited, doing business as BEC World, is a Thai media conglomerate, best known as the operator of television Channel 3. It was founded in 1990 and listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1995, though the group began doing business in 1967 as Bangkok Entertainment Co., Ltd., now a subsidiary. The business was founded by Vichai Maleenont, and continues to be majorly owned by the Maleenont family, though the company underwent major restructuring in the 2010s in response to major losses following landscape changes in the broadcast industry.
Dream Satellite TV was the first all-digital Direct-To-Home (DTH) television broadcasting service via satellite in the Philippines. Broadcasting from the Dream Broadcast Center located at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Content is received from program providers, compressed and broadcast via Koreasat 5 in DVB-S and NTSC color format exclusively to its subscribers using the Integrated Receiver-Decoder and the Conax/Nagravision 3 Encryption System.
Thaicom 5 was a geostationary communications satellite operated by Thaicom. It was used to provide communications services to Asia, Africa, Middle East, Americas, Europe and Australia.
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat) is a public company listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company PJSC, offering multi-mission satellite services in more than 150 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and Australasia. The company offers voice, data, video and internet services for broadcast, Internet and VSAT users for both private and government organisations.
THAICOM 6 is a Thai satellite of the Thaicom series, operated by Thaicom Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of INTOUCH headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. THAICOM 6 is colocated with Thaicom 5 at 78.5 degrees East, in geostationary orbit. The total cost for the satellite is US$160 million.
AsiaSat 6 / Thaicom 7 is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by the Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company (AsiaSat) and was launched into orbit on 7 September 2014. The satellite project was developed in cooperation between satellite operators AsiaSat and Thaicom. AsiaSat owns half of the satellite's 28 transponders which are marketed as AsiaSat 6. The other half of the satellite is owned by Thaicom and is marketed as Thaicom 7. AsiaSat's part of the satellite is operated under license of the China (PRC), whereas Thaicom's part is operated under license of Thailand.
CTH Public Company Limited (CTH), formerly known as Cable Thai Holding Public Company Limited, was a Thai pay TV operator and Internet broadband services provider.
THAICOM 8 is a Thai satellite of the THAICOM series, operated by Thaicom Public Limited Company, a subsidiary of INTOUCH, and is considered to be the 8th THAICOM satellite headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.
Nonthaburi Civic Center station is a Bangkok MRT station on the Purple Line and Pink Line. The station is located on the Rattanathibet road in Nonthaburi Province. The station opened on 6 August 2016 on the Purple Line, while the Pink Line opened on 21 November 2023.
GMM Z is a Thai set-top box distributor and former satellite television operator owned by GMM Grammy and Advanced Info Service.
