NBTC adamant on 900MHz bid
The NATIONAL Broadcasting and Telecom-munications Commission (NBTC) will press ahead with its planned auction of telecom licences on the 900-megahertz spectrum despite opposition from TOT and its union.
TOT executives and members of its workers’ union joined yesterday’s public hearing on the draft rules for the upcoming auction. TOT representatives tried to make the case that their agency would face financial trouble if did not hold the 900MHz spectrum, and asked the NBTC to cancel the auction process.
Anushit Thoopluang, president of the union, said TOT would transfer about Bt21 billion in concession assets, including mobile base stations and transmission networks, from the 900MHz services of Advanced Info Services (AIS) on September 30.
TOT has asked for the right to hold the 900MHz spectrum for national-security services until 2025, which is when its NBTC licence expires.Winai Kaewsawan, TOT vice president for its mobile development department, said 30 million people were still using the second-generation mobile services provided by all of the telecoms, so TOT could handle these services while subscribers gradually switched to 3G or 4G.
However, Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, reaffirmed that the 900MHz auction would go ahead in November.
On Monday the NBTC, TOT and the Information and Communications Technology jointly met with the Secretariat of the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of the 900MHz telecom spectrum.
There was no conclusion from the meeting but the secretariat asked all of them to submit to it this month the pros and cons of TOT keeping part of the 900MHz spectrum to continue providing service after the end of its AIS concession next month. Then the office will pass their recommendations on to the Cabinet for its consideration.
During the public hearing, a representative of Total Access Communication (DTAC) raised the idea that the NBTC should hold auctions for both the 900MHz and 1,800MHz spectra on the same day so that potential bidders could plan their strategies more easily. DTAC is interested in bidding for a 900MHz licence since it is the best spectrum for network expansion. True Corp said the minimum bid for a 900MHz licence, which has been set at Bt11.26 billion, was too high. True said Bt7 billion per licence would be more reasonable.
