NBTC to give guidance price for licence sale
THE National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will disclose an initial guidance price for the 700MHz licence by May 10, the regulator’s secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said.
The watchdog is expected to hold a public hearing on the price and the licence terms of payment in late May.
Takorn believes that the telecom operators would submit, by the May 10 deadline, their declarations of interest to take up the relief measures that were recently offered by the government.
The junta measures offer telecom operators a longer time to pay their 900MHz licence fees, while the digital TV broadcasters will have the option to return their licences to the NBTC. Those wanting to use this right have to inform the NBTC by May 10.
However, the relief measures include a condition that makes it mandatory for the 900MHz telecom licence holders to take part in the NBTC’s planned sale of the 700MHz spectrum slots, expected in June.
They would lose the extended payment facility if they do not take part in the sale and would have to pay their 900MHz licences as per the original payment schedule of four instalments.
Those operators electing to take up the government assistance can later change their minds and not purchase the 700MHz slots if they find they are unhappy with the upcoming price and related conditions of the licence sales.
The NBTC will reallocate the 700MHz totalling 45MHz for sale. It is expected to sell three licences, each totalling 15MHz, at between Bt25 billion and Bt27 billion. The telecom operators that grab the licences will start paying for the licence lots next October. The licence term is 15 years.
If no operator decides to acquire the 700MHz, the NBTC will put the licence up for auction.
The NBTC wants to see the telecom operators using the 700MHz to develop a 5G wireless broadband service.
If they do not take up the relief measures, Advanced Info Service’s subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) and True Corp’s subsidiary TrueMove H Universal Communication (TUC) are scheduled to pay hefty final instalments of Bt59.574 billion and Bt60.218 billion, respectively, for their 900MHz licences in 2020.
Total Access Communication is due to pay its final instalment for the 900MHz of Bt30.024 billion in 2022.
