Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has restarted preparations for the soon to be launched spectrum auction, local newspaper The Nation reports. Last week, Thailand’s National Digital Economy Committee ordered the NBTC to resume planning for the auction of spectrum licenses. "We expect that there will be meaningful competition in these new auction rounds" NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith. The commission has set a THB 100 million budget to prepare for the auction.
Five operators have already announced they will bid for spectrum, including Advanced Info Service (AIS), Total Access Communication (DTAC), True Corp, CAT Telecom, and Jasmine International. Thailand will auction four licenses, two of 12.5 MHZ each in the 1,800MHz spectrum, and two of 10MHz each in the 900MHz spectrum. The NBTC plans to hold the 1,800MHz auction in November, and take bids for the two 900MHz licences in December.
The NBTC has hired the International Telecommunication Union to re-evaluate the starting prices for the two spectra. The current minimum bids were set at 70 percent of the full spectrum values by the ITU last year. The starting price of 12.5MHz bandwidth of 1,800MHz is THB 11.6 billion, while the minimum for 10MHz of 900MHz is THB 11.26 billion.
The NBTC is expected to raise between THB 45.7 billion and THB 65.3 billion from the auction. The NBTC is expected to propose a spectrum auction plan for the telecom committee's consideration by 1 April.
