All smiles, even a dance, ahead of auction

But this was not really at all surprising, given that the spectrum slots on offer matched their companies’ demand for bandwidth.
 There were nine slots available in the auction, with each of the three bidders allowed to grab a maximum of three.
 The mood was in marked contrast to when the companies submitted documents to apply for spectrum licences at the National Broadcasting and Tele-communications Commission on September 28, when they all sought the most auspicious times to lodge the paperwork. At that point, no one could tell whether all three of them would pass the prequalification process.
 The three qualified bidders were Advanced Wireless Network, a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service (AIS); DTAC Network, a unit of Total Access Communication (DTAC); and Real Future, which is part of True Corp.
 The auction was held at the NBTC’s head office on Bangkok’s Phaholyothin Road. The representatives arrived at the commission early in the morning.
 Real Future had 10 representatives in attendance, led by True CEO Suphachai Chearavanont, vice chairman Athueck Asvanund and chief financial officer Noppadol Dejudom.
 They all wore grey T-shirts, inside of which there were white t-shirts featuring the logo “Su Suud Jai”, which means “fight until the end”. The concept of the logo is that though they are small Thais, they can fight on a par with foreigners. True is the only cellular operator with no foreign strategic partner.
 Also among the True contingent was a fortune teller and a representatives of its parent company, Charoen Pokphand.
 The True team was relaxed when the representatives arrived at the NBTC reception hall provided for bidders, and it was some of them that performed a dance to “Gangnam Style”.
 AIS’s Advanced Wireless Network also brought along 10 representatives, led by InTouch executive chairman Somprasong Boonyachai, AIS chief executive officer Wichian Mektrakarn, SingTel executive Hui Weng Chong and AIS chief financial officer Pongamorn Nimpoonsa-wat. InTouch is the parent company of AIS. Also in attendance was InTouch director Boon Swan Foo, who represents Singapore state investment arm Temasek Holdings. Temasek controls InTouch, formerly known as Shin Corp, via two subsidiaries.
 Before heading to the NBTC office, AIS staff held a ceremony in front of the company’s building, also on Phaholyothin Road, to lift their representatives’ spirits and bring them luck. They waved orange balloons to cheer on their executives.
 DTAC Network, meanwhile, had seven representatives, led by DTAC chief executive officer Jon Eddy Abdullah, chief corporate affairs officer Darmp Sukontha-sap and representatives from Norway’s Telenor, DTAC’s strategic partner. They showed up in formal Western-style suits.
 At 9am, NBTC telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan drew lots to select which of the three bidders would be the first to draw a ticket to decide the room they would occupy during the bidding, and another to give each company a username and password for logging into the bidding system.
 He then announced that Advanced Wireless Network would be the first to draw lots to select its room, username and password, followed by Real Future and then DTAC Network.