NBTC blasted over 'low' prices gained at 3G auction

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, president of the Thailand Development Research Institute, said the reserve price of Bt4.5 billion per spectrum slot was not suitable. It should have been Bt5 billion or more.
The 2.1GHz slots will be used to provide third-generation wireless broadband.
A report by independent consultancy The Value Partner that was recently released to the public by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) might make people think that the price of Bt4.5 billion was not too low, and not lower than what was paid in many developed countries, he said.
“But in detail, for the 12 countries that The Value Partner cited in the study, it did not unveil the criteria for selecting these countries as the model for the study. And the 3G-licence price of most of the countries cited in the study was not for the first time but for add-on licences.
“The first-time-licence auction price should be higher. The price of Bt4.5 billion is 27.2 per cent lower than the average price,” he told a seminar hosted by the IT Press Club on the topic of 3G.
Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of the NBTC’s telecom committee, said the decision to set the price at Bt4.5 billion came out a brainstorming session of the reserve price committee, whose members are experts in many disciplines.
“We didn’t set the price at Bt4.5 billion without supporting reasons. We have the committee, about 60 people involved in this process, we had a meeting and discussed these issues. It is a suitable price and not too low,” he said.

CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Somkiat said the lower price cost the country Bt16 billion. But he agrees that Thailand should have a 3G cellular network up and running as soon as possible.
“But we need accountability from whoever made the country lose Bt16 billion from the auction, and that is the regulator, the NBTC. The accountability can be both legal and social. We care about the social responsibility of the regulators, who should have considered resigning using their own judgement,” he said.
Settapong said the regulator did not do anything wrong. It did what it had to do according to the law. Its members work as a committee consisting of a lot of experts across areas.
“We cannot do everything to serve the pleasure of everyone. We do our best job that provides the country with a 3G network … at an appropriate price,” he said.
“We work in the real world, not in an ideal world. We have to consider the whole picture rather than focus on only a small piece,” he said.
Anupap Thiralap, a telecom expert, said the telecom watchdog had three main duties: to promote competition in the market, to protect consumer interest, and to regulate the telecom industry to benefit the country as a whole.
“But throughout the past year, the NBTC did not yet fulfil these three main duties,” he said.
On the point of whether the price is suitable or not, the competition structure must be considered, he said. Telecom service is not an absolutely competitive market, since it is a limited resource. The licence price will affect service charges, unless the regulator specifies the technical and service standards clearly. In that case, the price of a licence might not affect service fees.
“But in this case, the NBTC did not determine exactly the main details of both technical and service parameters,” he said.
Darmp Sukhontasap, chief corporate affairs officer for Total Access Communication (DTAC), said this 3G spectrum auction might not please everyone, but it should be upheld, since Thailand has fallen behind by a lot of countries around the world providing this technology. The country has lost a lot of opportunities because of the lack of a 3G network.