Thai operator AIS planned to light its first core 5G networks by the close of the month, focused on capital city Bangkok and the Eastern Economic Corridor, an area straddling three provinces which the government aims to transform into an industrial hub, Reuters reported.

The operator is in the final stages of tender process involving Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung, the news agency stated, with AIS president Hui Weng Cheong explaining it was common practice for the operator to invite multiple bids.

He played down the inclusion of Huawei on the list despite recent scrutiny of the company, telling Reuters the US had yet to offer any evidence of its claims the vendor posed a security risk or had ties with the Chinese government.

The operator launched a commercial 5G service on 21 February on 2.6GHz spectrum. Last month, CEO Somchai Lertsutthiwong said all 77 provinces in Thailand had been covered by end-May.

AIS originally committed between THB10 billion ($317.5 million) and THB15 billion for its 5G rollout for the 12 months after launch.