Two auctions possible after expiries

Jesada Sivaraks, secretary to the NBTC’s vice chairman, said recently that members of the 1,800MHz subcommittee had floated the idea that the 12.5MHz bandwidth of True-Move’s 1,800MHz should be put up for auction to provide 4G service.
The parallel idea is that the same bandwidth of the 1,800MHz spectrum of Digital Phone Co (DPC) should also be auctioned off for the provision of 2G service.
The two private cellular operators hold equal bandwidth granted to them by CAT Telecom under concessions that expire next September. TrueMove is a subsidiary of True Corp, while DPC is a unit of Advanced Info Service (AIS).
If the spectrum to be recalled from DPC could be used for another five years, it would mean the term would end at the same time as that of Total Access Communication’s 1,800MHz spectrum concession – in 2018. DTAC holds 50MHz bandwidth of the spectrum.
This would mean that by 2018, the NBTC would have a huge |combined chunk of 62.5MHz bandwidth of the spectrum back for re-allocation.
Under the proposal being formulated by the NBTC subcommittee, the term of the 1,800MHz spectrum to be auctioned off would be 15 years, resulting in it ending at the same time as another 1,800MHz spectrum to be recalled from TrueMove for the proposed development of 4G service for 20 years.
The NBTC aims to auction the 1,800MHz blocks of TrueMove and DPC within a specific period after its auction of the 2.1GHz spectrum on October 16.
A telecom analyst expects competition in any 1,800MHz spectrum auction to be fierce. Demand should be greater than supply, given that there would be only a combined 25MHz bandwidth – 12.5MHz from TrueMove and another 12.5MHz from DPC – available in the auction.
AIS wants to use the 1,800MHz spectrum for 4G development, while TrueMove wants the 12.5MHz back to offer 4G service, as well as to enable it to continue to provide 2G service after the concession ends by leasing the 1,800MHz network equipment from CAT.
 The industry has been waiting |for the watchdog to come up with |a clear road map for spectrum |reallocation so that operators can make investment plans.
RETURN OF SPECTRA TO NBTC
In a related matter, NBTC telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan said the regulator’s legal subcommittee would soon propose for the main panel’s consideration its preliminary conclusion that TOT and CAT must hand over the spectra – considered to be a valuable national resource – for NBTC reallocation once the concession expiry dates are reached.
The legal subcommittee looked into the matter after CAT and TOT had asked the NBTC whether they could retain the spectra after the concessions end.
They want to keep them to generate their own revenue and provide service to meet the government’s policy of promoting equal access to telecom service.
The idea of the two state agencies retaining parts of the spectra has been supported by the Information and Communications Technology Ministry.
TOT’s concession of the 900MHz spectrum to AIS to provide 2G service ends in September 2015.
Settapong said the NBTC would not recall the state telecom agencies’ spectra in a way that could negatively affect consumers, and would draw up a recall plan and measures to prevent any such impact arising.
CAT wants to keep its 1,800MHz spectrum for 10 years during a post-concession transitional period before returning it to the NBTC.