FTI backs 3G auction as way to boost competitiveness.
Manufacturers have voiced support for the plan of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to auction off the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum, saying the country needs a third-generation broadband cellular network to boost its competitive
Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) chairman Payungsak Chartsuthipol said the spectrum was a natural resource that should be optimally utilised to benefit all Thais on an equal basis.
An advanced telecom infrastructure would enhance the country’s competitiveness and could be leveraged to bridge the digital divide, he added.
He made the remark at a seminar yesterday held by the Telecommunications Association of Thailand to voice support for the 2.1GHz spectrum auction on October 16.
The presence of a strong telecom infrastructure is a key factor in drawing foreign investment, Payungsak said.
Thailand has positioned itself as a regional leader in many areas. Therefore, it should not lag behind its neighbours in terms of advanced telecom infrastructure, he said.
He added that local industries had long been waiting to leverage the 3G cellular broadband technology fully.
Vichai Bencharongkul, president of the Telecommunications Association of Thailand, said he hoped that this time nothing would derail the auction, as happened two years ago.
The NBTC’s predecessor, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), was supposed to auction the 2.1GHz spectrum in September 2010 but the move was suspended by a Central Administrative Court injunction on September 16 of that year as requested by CAT Telecom. The injunction was issued after the state agency sought a court order to terminate the auction plan.
The court dropped the case on September 7 of this year at the request of the NBTC.
Vichai said the coming of the 3G-2.1GHz network would serve the government’s policy of expanding broadband access service nationwide.
The secretary-general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Vichai Assarasakorn, said the 3G network infrastructure would enable businesses to conduct transactions at a faster speed and would create many kinds of new services. He added that all the chamber’s members wanted to see a successful auction.
The NBTC will call bids for nine spectrum slots, each containing 5 megahertz bandwidth at a reserve price of Bt4.5 billion each. Each bidder can bid for a maximum of three slots.
