Big-3 to announce 4G stance tomorrow
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ADVANCED Info Service, Total Access Communication, and True Corp will jointly announce their stance tomorrow in a bid to convince the government to support the broadcasting and telecom regulator's plan to auction the 1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum licences
The three major private telecom operators share a common view that the mobile broadband 4G service is key to ensuring the success of the government’s policy of a digital economy.
AIS chief executive officer Somchai Lertsutiwong, DTAC interim CEO Sigve Brekke, and True CEO Suphachai Chearavanont will make the announcement.
The three competitors rarely join forces and only do so for issues they regard as important.
A telecom industry source said that AIS initiated the move.
AIS is the only telecom operator yet to introduce the commercial 4G service. True was the first Thai operator to launch the service, using the 2.1GHz spectrum, followed by DTAC.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has set up a working panel to study the benefits for the country from its plan to licence the 1,800- and 900-megahertz spectra.
The panel is scheduled to finish the study next month and forward it for consideration by the government and military.
This could pave the way for the NBTC to call bids for the bandwidth on the two spectra by July.
Telecom operators that win licences are expected to spend a total of Bt250 billion on upfront payments and network rollouts.
The NBTC had planned to auction the licences this year, but after it seized power the junta ordered the watchdog to suspend the schedule for one year, pending “complete clarification” of the plan to the new military regime.
Recently, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said he supported the auction of 4G licences as soon as possible next year.
The Cabinet last week approved a draft law to set up a national digital economy committee, and another law for restructuring the Information and Communications Technology Ministry.
Meanwhile, the three bid winners of 2.1GHz licences, Advanced Wireless Network of AIS, DTAC TriNet of DTAC, and Real Future of True, will pay their second instalments on the upfront fee today – a total of over Bt11 billion.
Each of them won bids to grab these licences in 2012 by paying Bt41.6 billion in total, half of which was paid in December that year.
The trio currently have a combined 73.5 million 3G subscribers out of their combined total of 103 million 3G and 2G subscribers.
