Mr. Pratthana Leelapanang, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (SET: ADVANC,) revealed that in the first two months of 2026, AIS’ business continued to grow from 2025, which was the year that the telecommunications sector experienced a strong rebound after stagnation since 2018. Meanwhile, the intensifying conflict between Iran and the United States in early March is still too early to assess in terms of its impact, especially on energy prices, which could influence inflation by pushing the cost of goods higher, and may potentially cause a slowdown in new mobile phone sales.
AIS is targeting service revenue growth of 3-5% this year, and expects EBITDA growth of 2-4%. The company has set a total investment budget (CAPEX) of 30-35 billion baht, focusing on building smart infrastructure such as the mobile network, broadband, and digital infrastructure like data centers to support global demand that positions Thailand as a regional hub, as well as cloud services and international connectivity via submarine cables, leveraging its partnership with Singtel as a key strength. In addition, AIS is introducing AI to create an “Autonomous Network,” which is an intelligent system capable of predicting and self-healing network issues, in order to maintain the highest service quality for customers.
The company believes that Thailand’s communications industry still has natural growth opportunities, even if the market appears to be saturated. Currently, 5G access penetration is only at 37%, even though coverage stretches over 95% of the population. The mobile business currently has about 45-47 million subscribers, and this number is expected to remain stable or increase only slightly. AIS plans to increase the number of 5G users from 17 million to more than 20 million within this year. The strategy is to raise the average revenue per user (ARPU) by encouraging customers to upgrade from 4G to 5G, as these packages are usually higher priced and offer better value in terms of data use.
For the fixed broadband market, this year the company is aiming for over 10% growth, believing there is still significant room for expansion. At present, only 50% of households, or about 11 million out of a total 22-26 million households, have access to broadband, compared to China’s 103% penetration rate. As a result, AIS is confident the market can continue to expand substantially, and anticipates around 9% revenue growth from this segment.
Beyond infrastructure services, AIS is also venturing into the platform business to add value to its existing customer base, such as financial services (Financial Platform). For its Virtual Bank, AIS expects an official launch in June-July 2026 (subject to the Bank of Thailand’s approval), focusing on using data (Big Data) and technology to assess loan applications instead of relying on staff or branches.
The financial platform strategy also targets groups who have limited access to financial services, enabling them to reach funding sources at lower costs, with the aim of creating an ecosystem linking payments and financial services seamlessly with AIS’ customer base, under the name “CLIX Bank.” The shareholding is as follows: ADVANC holds 39%, Krung Thai Bank holds 41%, and PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited (SET: OR) holds 20%. Thai Trinity Holding Company Limited is established as the major shareholder.
Mr. Yordchai Asawathongchai, Head of AIS Broadband Business Unit, stated that current data shows a steady increase in the number of users, with a target of 5.2 million users. In the first quarter of 2026, performance is expected to be on par with or better than the same period last year, with an average of 60,000-70,000 new customers per quarter. Notably, customer satisfaction and average revenue per user (ARPU) have clearly increased, up from 520 baht in the previous quarter to 538 baht currently, and are expected to reach 600 baht for new customers, as starting package prices have risen to around 599 baht. This shows that consumers are willing to pay more for quality.
On the analyst front, the Investment Analysts Association (IAA Consensus) set the average target price for ADVANC at 385.18 baht, with a high of 420.00 baht.
