National Telecom Ends Thaicom 4 Service June 30 as 5-Year Korean Backup Advances

1 articles · Updated · Nation Thailand · May 28

June 30 is NT’s cutoff for satellite internet delivered via Thaicom 4, ending service at 11:59 p.m. as the ageing iPSTAR spacecraft nears retirement.
Thaicom 4 has already exceeded its engineering life and is expected to leave orbit by July 31; its lifespan was extended twice after earlier end-of-service targets in 2022 and 2024.
Koreasat-7 is the stopgap plan approved by Thailand’s telecom regulator in April, with a five-year authorization for Thaicom’s subsidiary to use the nearby South Korean satellite for existing customers.
That handover is not immediate: ground-station work, administrative steps and equipment installation are still needed, and Thaicom has said temporary service could take another three to six months to become operational.
Thaicom 9 remains the long-term replacement at 119.5 degrees East, but manufacturing problems have pushed the Astranis-built satellite’s launch from the original 2025 target into next year.

Could manufacturing delays leave Thailand's remote communities digitally stranded during the critical satellite changeover?

With LEO internet rising, is Thaicom's delayed satellite replacement already a billion-dollar bet on outdated technology?

As its pioneering satellite dies, is Thailand swapping digital sovereignty for a fragile reliance on foreign technology?