Thai firm eyes Mideast to sell its digital TV-enabled smartphones

By Arno Maierbrugger

Gulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

Thailand-based Samart Corporation has identified the Middle East as a new export destination for its digital TV-enabled smartphones. In particular, it wants to export up to 500,000 phones to countries in the Middle East that recently have adopted DVB-T2 technology for digital television, which include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia.

DVB-T2 is the second generation of the terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting system and is able to transmit high-definition television which provides a substantially higher resolution and movie quality compared to standard television. Samart, under its brand I-mobile, is one of the largest distributors of multimedia-enabled smartphone in Asia. It is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and partly owned by Malaysia’s telecom giant Axiata Group. Samart aims to sell 1.5mn phones in Thailand this year and also seeks to export units with built-in digital TV in Myanmar and South Africa.

Qatar began to equip its TV network with DVB-T2 technology in August 2013, when it chose German technology company Rohde & Schwarz to upgrade the network of state media broadcaster Qatar Media Corporation. The main contractor for the project estimated to cost $14mn is Qatar-based systems integrator Media Group International, which commissioned Rohde & Schwarz to integrate, test and put the necessary broadcasting technology into operation. The objective of the project is to have countrywide coverage for fixed outdoor reception for the DVB-T2 system. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2014 with the DVB-T2 network to go on air.

In Saudi Arabia, the country-wide migration to DVB-T2 is also in full swing, as well as in the UAE. Kuwait has also committed itself to use DVB-T2 in the future. In Bahrain, Oman and Yemen, the technology is in assessment. Among the early adopters in the region was interestingly Iraq which started using the new digital TV technology in its Kurdistan region as early as in 2011.

The upgrade in Qatar has been commissioned with a view at the FIFA World Cup 2022, which is also a long-term selling proposition for Samart. The company on May 11 at the Thailand Mobile Expo 2014 presented three smartphones and one tablet which all support mobile digital TV in the DVB-T2 standard and come in a price range from $110 to $263, thus in an affordable price range as compared to top smartphone brands with mobile TV capabilities.

And Samart’s advantage is that its phones come in a pre-configured package including a pre-installed TV application.

Samart Group’s history dates back to 1955 when founder Cherdchai Vilailuck opened a small electronic shop in central Thailand. Later, he expanded his business with antennas and satellite dish receivers. Today, Samart Group has grown to a major electronics and telecoms conglomerate that focuses on information and communication solutions, multimedia, e-commerce, e-learning, network services, software development, outdoor billboards, engineering, green technology air traffic control and power utilities. The company has subsidiaries or branches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Hong Kong.