BANGKOK — The idea of the smart home is moving beyond connected lights and voice-controlled devices in Thailand, with TrueOnline Home Next winning a 2026 BUSINESS+ Product of the Year Award for broadband internet services.
The award recognizes TrueOnline’s push to combine high-speed fiber connectivity with smart-home devices and artificial intelligence, turning the traditional home internet connection into a broader digital ecosystem designed around security, convenience and everyday household needs.
The award ceremony was held on September 23, with True Corporation Chief Home Connectivity Officer Tanaphon Manavutiveth accepting the award on behalf of the company.
From Wi-Fi to an AI-Powered Home
TrueOnline Home Next is positioned as more than a conventional broadband service.
Its ecosystem brings together fiber internet, IoT devices and AI through TrueX Home Hub, which serves as a central control point for connected devices around the house.
At the center of the system is “Ami,” an AI assistant designed to respond to Thai-language voice commands and help users interact with connected home devices.
The system can be paired with technologies including AI-enabled security cameras, smart plugs, smart lighting, sensors and other connected devices.
The concept reflects a broader change in the smart-home market: instead of requiring residents to manage numerous individual devices, companies are increasingly trying to connect them into a single ecosystem.
What Makes TrueOnline’s Approach Different?
TrueOnline has been developing its AI strategy for several years.
In 2024, Bangkok Post reported that the company was already using AI to improve broadband performance and support growing demand for smart-home devices. At that time, TrueOnline described strategies involving AI-powered network monitoring, routers and Wi-Fi management.
The newer Home Next platform expands that strategy beyond the network itself.
The company says the system is intended to address three broad areas: safety, convenience and connectivity.
Examples include AI CCTV designed to recognize people, children’s crying and pets, smart plugs that can monitor electricity use, and smart lighting that can automatically adjust according to users’ daily rhythms.
Designed Around Families
TrueOnline is also promoting the technology as a way to help family members stay connected and monitor the home.
For older family members living alone, the ecosystem can include devices such as an SOS button, cameras and remotely controlled appliances. The company’s promotional material describes scenarios in which family members can receive alerts while they are away from home.
That shifts the marketing pitch away from simply making homes more technologically advanced.
Instead, TrueOnline is presenting AI as a tool for home management and family care, particularly when different generations have different needs.
The Award Process
The BUSINESS+ Product of the Year Awards 2026 are organized by Business+ magazine under ARIP Public Company and conducted in collaboration with the College of Management, Mahidol University.
According to the organizers’ description, the selection process combines consumer surveys, data collection, expert evaluation, academic analysis and online public voting.
TrueOnline Home Next received the award in the technology category for broadband internet service.
The recognition comes as Thailand’s connected-home market continues to develop and consumers gain access to a growing number of IoT products.
Thailand’s AI Home Revolution Is Getting Bigger
The development is part of a larger shift in how internet providers view the home.
Broadband is increasingly becoming the foundation for connected cameras, entertainment systems, energy-management devices, sensors and AI assistants rather than simply a connection for smartphones and computers.
TrueOnline’s latest offering illustrates that transition: the router and fiber connection are becoming the infrastructure behind an entire household technology ecosystem.
But the bigger question for consumers is whether AI-powered homes will ultimately become everyday necessities or remain premium technology for households willing to pay for expanded smart-home services.
As Thailand’s connected-device market grows, that question could determine how quickly the country’s homes move from being merely connected to becoming genuinely intelligent.
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
