True Move has seen the first fruit of its strategic partnership formed eight months ago with China Mobile International after the launch of low-cost international roaming service between Thailand and China.
The alliance between the world's biggest mobile company and Thailand's third largest marks a bold step in mutual development ahead of the Asean Economic Community, said Suphachai Chearavanont, president and chief executive of True Corporation.
"The move is the first iteration of our synergy and technological convergence after working on the roaming service initiative five months ago," he said.
"The collaboration also demonstrates our commitment to promoting Thailand as a gateway for trade and investment in Asean."
With the roaming service, True Move customers in Hong Kong and China can automatically switch to China Mobile's cellular network using a new local number and without changing the SIM card.
Calls from Hong Kong or China to Thailand will be charged at nine baht a minute, while calls within those territories will be charged at five baht a minute. SMS messages will cost three baht each.
Customers must pay a service charge of 99 baht a month.
"The rates are at least 80% lower than normal fees," Mr Suphachai said, adding that China and Hong Kong are in the top five destinations for Thai travellers.
Shen Weizhong, director and vice-president of China Mobile International, said the collaboration would let the giant company access new customers and pave the way to further international opportunities.
True entered a strategic partnership deal with China Mobile last September after increasing its capital by 65 billion baht.
China Mobile International, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile Communications, paid 28.6 billion baht for an 18% stake in True Corporation, backed by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont.
Kittinut Tikawan, True Move's chief commercial officer for mobile business, said the new roaming service would add an estimated 45,000 roaming customers this year, bringing the total to 245,000.
The company also expects to sell 30,000 to 50,000 Smart True smartphones this year.
Mr Kittinut said household handsets accounted for roughly half of True Move's handset sales last year, followed by Apple iPhones with 35% and other brands with 15%.
As of last September, True Move had 26 million subscribers.
Of the total, 24 million were 3G customers, 800,000 were 4G subscribers and the rest were 2G users.
Mr Kittinut said the number of 4G base stations would surpass 9,000 in April, covering 80% of the population.
"We expect our 4G subscriber base to top 2 million by year-end thanks to a rapid transition from 3G to 4G mobile services," he said.
The leap to 4G from 3G is expected take a few years compared with five years for the switch to 3G from 2G.
True Move expects double-digit growth in terms of its subscriber base and revenue this year, citing the fast nationwide expansion of its 3G and 4G networks and the competitive advantage of its partnership with China Mobile.