NBTC board backs plan for auction of spectrum licences

The NBTC will auction the three 2x15MHz of 1800MHz licences on August 4.
Total Access Communication (DTAC) yesterday voiced its opposition to the auction of the three licences, saying that this will undoubtedly put at risk the telecom industry, resulting in unsold spectrum and an inefficient outcome.
The NBTC will have the auction rules and timeframe published in the Royal Gazette on May 4 and invite interested parties to join the bid from May 15 to June 14.
The bid submission date is set on June 15 while the pre-qualification process will take place from June 16 to July 31. Prospective bidders will have to place a bid guarantee of Bt1.873 billion. The bid winners, in the case of default in paying the first licence upfront instalments, will be fined Bt5.619 billion.
The names of qualified bidders will be announced on July 2.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said that if no one submits the bid documents, the NBTC will consider revising the auction rules by splitting the 45MHz of 1800MHz total bandwidth into nine licences, each containing 5MHz.
In a recent public hearing on the 1800MHz auction rules, some participating companies, including DTAC, proposed the NBTC split the 45MHz of total bandwidth into nine licences, each containing 2x5 MHz bandwidth, reasoning that would be more flexible for the bidders. 
The 1800MHz band is currently used by DTAC. It was granted to it under a concession by CAT Telecom that will expire on September 15.
The starting bid price is set at Bt37.457 billion. The bidder is required to raise the price of Bt75 million per round.
The auction will use the formula of N-1, which means the number of the bidders must exceed the number of the available licences.
DTAC, however, said the N-1 rule should be removed as it will create an artificial spectrum scarcity.
The NBTC board yesterday resolved not to consider the draft auction rules for 900MHz licences.