Bt40 bn set for 3G-2.1 GHz business

The sum is the same as what the company estimated back in February, chief executive officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said yesterday.
 Of the total, between Bt15 billion and Bt20 billion is expected to be spent on bidding for spectrum slots, Bt10 billion to roll out the 3G network to cover 50 per cent of the population within the first two years of DTAC obtaining a 3G business licence, and another Bt10 billion on expanding the coverage to 80 per cent of the population in the following two years.
 The national coverage plans are in line with the network roll-out obligations of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
 A telecom analyst recently estimated that each of the three bidders in the auction on October 16 would end up paying only Bt15 billion as final upfront fees, given that there are sufficicient spectrum blocks available for all three operators.
 The three applicants for taking part in the bidding are DTAC Network, Advanced Info Service’s Advanced Wireless Network, and Real Future, a unit of True Corp.
 The NBTC will auction nine slots of the spectrum, each containing 5MHz of bandwidth at a reserve price of Bt4.5 billion apiece. Each bidder can go for a maximum 15MHz of bandwidth.
 The watchdog on October 9 will announce the names of the applicants that have passed its prequalification process. The prequalified bidders will then immediately be subject to a silent period in the run-up to the auction.
 It will be impossible for the three bidders to collude in the bidding, Abdullah said, adding that the reserve price of Bt4.5 billion per slot is not low. If DTAC Network is successful at the auction, the company expects to launch high-quality 3G service during the second half of next year, he said.
 Once all the spectrum-slot winners start their network services, the market will see competition in the provision of data-service packages. Consumers will also get a faster speed for wireless data usage, he added.
 DTAC Network is not setting a customer number target for the initial period, but it is expected to take up to four years to migrate DTAC’s existing customers to the 3G business operator, he said, pointing out that migration requires permission from customers and is also dependent on their having compatible 3G mobile devices.
 DTAC currently has more than 23 million mobile-phone subscribers.
 If DTAC Network can grab part of the spectrum, DTAC plans to stop further investment on the expansion of its 3G-850MHz network and swing investment to the 2.1GHz network for 3G service instead, the CEO said.
 DTAC will, however, go ahead as planned in finishing the installation of 5,200 base stations for the 3G-850 MHz network by the end of this year. It has installed about 3,000 stations to date.
 Abdullah described DTAC as technically and financially ready to bid during the auction. The company has over the past nine months DTAC enhanced its organisation and people on many fronts to prepare for the provision of 3G service to customers, he said.