ICT Ministry, NBTC to present telecom plans to digital economy panel today

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will also report to the same committee today on its progress in preparing auctions of bandwidth on the 900- and 1,800-megahertz spectra, NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said.

Pornchai said that if the committee gives its approval, the ministry and the NBTC would jointly draw up complete details of the plan to reclaim the spectra, which would be submitted for the digital economy committee’s consideration next month.

“We’ll work together to determine which portions of the 800MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz spectra will be put up for auction and on which bands the NBTC may face problems when reclaiming them,” he said. The ministry’s spectrum-management plans include which bandwidth is to be reclaimed and how much compensation the state agencies currently holding the affected bands are entitled to. 

It also includes the rearrangement of the 1,800MHz spectrum, different bands of which are currently used by TrueMove, Digital Phone Co (DPC) and Total Access Communication (DTAC). Connecting them would enable the telecoms that win licences for that spectrum to provide service on optimal bandwidth capacity, but DTAC’s portion of the spectrum currently stands between those of TrueMove and DPC. 

The NBTC will put four licences up for auction, two of 12.5MHz each on the 1,800MHz spectrum and two of 10MHz each on the 900MHz spectrum. It plans to hold the 1,800MHz auction in November, and take bids for the two 900MHz licences the following month. 

 

Auctions to be rescheduled? 

The two 1,800MHz bands it will put up for auction are now used by TrueMove and DPC, whose concessions expired in September 2013. The 900MHz band belongs to Advanced Info Service, whose concession expires this September. Pornchai said his ministry’s spectrum-management plan might force the NBTC to reschedule its auctions, but any delay should be just a few months.

The NBTC last year hired Business Navigator Consulting and AEC Advisory (Thailand) to study many aspects of its plan to auction the 900MHz and 1,800MHz spectra, including the possible impacts of the auctions. 

The joint study found that AIS is expected to need additional spectrum to provide fourth-generation service. If AIS can acquire the 900MHz bandwidth at the auction, it is expected to allocate part of the band to serve existing 3G customers and use the bandwidth it already holds on the 2.1GHz spectrum for 4G. AIS has yet to offer a commercial 4G service, because of spectrum constraints. 

If AIS cannot acquire more than 5MHz of bandwidth, it is expected to partner with its current concession holder TOT to use the state agency’s band on 2.1GHz or 2.3GHz to enhance its wireless broadband service, according to the study.

The 1,800MHz auction will be very important for True and DTAC, which already provide commercial 4G services using the 2.1GHz spectrum. Rolling out 4G-1,800MHz network equipment will require low capital expenditure. 

The study also warned that further delays of the 900MHz and 1,800MHz auctions would discourage the existing 4G operators from expanding their networks. Such a delay would encourage private operators to seek partnership with CAT Telecom or TOT to use their spectra for 4G, which would bring in revenue for those state agencies.