FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

TOT’s 4G service plan draws 5 bidders 

TOT’s 4G service plan draws 5 bidders 

FIVE TELECOM companies are seeking to partner with TOT in offering 4G services on the state agency’s 2.3GHz spectrum. 

TOT on Tuesday held an informal meeting with the companies - Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication (DTAC), True Corp, Mobile LTE and Tantawan Telecommunication – to sound them out on the agency’s plan to seek a partner to develop the 2.3GHz wireless broadband service.
TOT will announce the term of reference for the bidding early next month and is expected to select its business partner in middle of this year. TOT hopes the 2.3GHz service will provide a key source of new revenue. The partnership would run services on 60MHz of the spectrum.
In Tuesday’s meeting, DTAC reportedly asked if the state agency has full ownership rights over the 60MHz. TOT replied that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has permitted the state agency to hold the bandwidth until 2025.
TOT has been awaiting approval from the NBTC’s telecom committee on its revised business plan to offer 4G services on this spectrum.
AIS and True asked TOT a similar question about the proposed business model and legal issues regarding the project. TOT said it would adopt a business model similar to that of the True-CAT Telecom partnership in offering the 850 MHz wireless broadband service.
True’s wholly owned subsidiary BFKT (Thailand) has installed the 850MHZ network for CAT to wholesale bandwidth mainly to True for the provision of the wireless broadband service.
The telecom operators also asked TOT if the agency would allow only a licensed telecom operator to be its project partner.
TOT said it would be open to bids from those without a licence. If it limits the bidding to existing licence holders, it would risk facing criticism that it favoured incumbent operators. If a bidder without a licence secured the partnership, that company could apply to the NBTC for a licence to run a telecom business, the agency told the representatives of the companies.
Under the TOT's draft terms of reference, the agency will ask the telecom operators to propose investments that would enable the 2.3GHz network to cover 80 per cent of population within three years to five years. 
The bid winner will also have to commit to lease 60 per cent of capacity from the network. TOT will use the rest remaining capacity to provide its own cellular service and allocate spare capacity to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
The bidders will be required to propose technical details and financial terms and conditions.
TOT hopes to gain Bt3.9 billion in net revenue a year from the 2.3GHz business, on par with that received from its partnership with AIS in offering the service on TOT's 2.1GHz spectrum.
Mobile LTE owns a licence to operate an MVNO business but has yet to start operations. The NBTC telecom committee recently granted the company, which was founded in 2014, a licence to operate a satellite service.
According to information lodged at the Department of Business Development, Tantawan, which has registered capital of Bt100 million, was co-founded by the family of former senator Prasit Photasuthon. His wife Duangkae is the sole signatory as authorised person of Tantawan, which was established in September 2012.
That year Tantawan put in a bid to offer services on the 2.1GHz spectrum licence. However, its application was rejected due to a lack of key documents and a bank-guarantee cheque. In 2010, Win Win NGV, which was founded by Prasit son’s Yuthana, applied to run services on the 2.1GHz licence but the bid failed because it lacked a cashier’s cheque and bank guarantee.
 

TAGS
nationthailand