Massive trust challenge confronts corporation following countrywide internet disruption
On May 22, 2025, a sudden and widespread outage affected True Corporation Plc's network across Thailand, disrupting mobile phone and home internet services in several regions. This extensive disruption extended into the afternoon, resulting in major inconveniences for work, communications, and online transactions. The hashtag #ทรูล่ม (True down) quickly gained traction on social media, representing not just a technical issue but a growing concern for one of Thailand's prominent telecom providers.
Two years prior, True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC) completed Southeast Asia's largest telecom merger, amassing a combined market capitalization of approximately 294 billion baht. At the time, True's top executives pledged that the merger would generate "endless opportunities" and immediate benefits for customers of both networks.
Positioning itself as a network leader, True aimed to cover 98% of the Thai population with 5G by 2026 while expanding nationwide. Officially rebranded as True Corporation Public Company Limited in March 2023, the merged entity celebrated its second anniversary this week.
Sigve Brekke, Group CEO of True Corporation, disclosed a 28- to 30-billion-baht budget for network expansion in 2025. "Two years into the merger, we have witnessed the combined strength of the two organizations driving solid and sustainable growth," Brekke stated. True outlined three core missions: building a trusted brand, developing AI innovations for all Thais, and fostering a customer-centric organizational culture.
With a market share of 52.77%, True remained a market giant, boasting 51-52 million mobile users by the end of 2023. However, the number decreased to 48.8 million in Q1 2025, losing 638,000 users (1.3%) quarter-over-quarter, primarily among prepaid users. With a continuing rise in 5G users and modest growth in broadband users, the decline in total mobile subscribers may suggest challenges in customer retention, particularly in light of recurring service quality issues.
True projected a 2-3% increase in service revenue and 8-10% growth in EBITDA year-over-year in 2025. DespiteTh these promising projections, the company has faced multiple network disruptions over the past two to three years, with many incidents connected to the integration challenges following the merger.
On May 22, the outage affected both mobile and home internet services, leading to the hashtag #ทรูล่ม trending once more. DTAC users remained unaffected, suggesting the issue may stem from legacy True infrastructure or unresolved integration challenges.
In response to the outage, True issued an apology and announced compensation for both postpaid and prepaid customers. Impacted users will receive SMS notifications with compensation details. Later in the day, True executives met with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to discuss the incident and preventive measures meant to avoid future outages.
Following mounting pressure, True revised its compensation plan, offering more than the initial amounts of data and call minutes and differentiating compensation policies for postpaid and prepaid users. The NBTC and consumer organizations urged True to implement robust preventive measures, offer clear explanations of the outage's root cause, and strive for reliable communication services nationwide. The Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) also demanded an explanation of the outage and stricter enforcement of preventive measures by the NBTC.
True Corporation must address these challenges and implement these measures to regain customer trust and comply with regulatory requirements in the wake of the nationwide network outage.
- The extensive network outage experienced by True Corporation Plc on May 22, 2025, has raised concerns not only about their technical infrastructure but also their organizational culture, given the company's prominent position in Thailand's telecom sector.
- As True Corporation grapples with the aftermath of the outage, the issue of infrastructure quality and integration challenges, particularly when compared to their merger partner DTAC, becomes a significant point of discussion in Thailand's general-news, finance, and technology sectors.
- With the growing demand for reliable digital services in various aspects of modern life, including business, communications, and online transactions, the ongoing challenges faced by True Corporation may impact their financial performance and market standing, as evidenced by the decreasing number of mobile users and the call for preventive measures by regulatory bodies and consumer organizations.
