NBTC considers auctioning off 5MHz blocks

USANEE MONGKOLPORN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- One of the many options for auctioning the 2.1-gigahertz-spectrum 3G licences is to call bidding for licences covering 5 megahertz of bandwidth each, said National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) member Settapong Malisuwan.

Settapong, who also serves as NBTC telecom committee chairman, said the regulator would select the auction method in May.

The NBTC will hire a group of lecturers from Chulalongkorn University's Economics Faculty to work out the appropriate licence reserve price, he said. This is the price the watchdog considers appropriate for a licence.

The NBTC has accepted recommendations on auction models from many foreign firms. Last week, Australia's Value Partner presented many options to the watchdog, including the auction of 2.1GHz licences covering 5MHz of bandwidth each, Settapong said.

The NBTC might decide to auction 10MHz or 15MHz bandwidth licences, or it could auction combined licenses of 10 MHz and 15 MHz. Currently the watchdog has 45 MHz bandwidth on the 2.1GHz spectrum.

The watchdog's 3G subcommittee assigned to draft the auction plan will hold a workshop on auction models this week, at which a number of companies will present additional options.

Settapong said the NBTC auction method and licences' terms and conditions would definitely be different from those of its predecessor, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), given that the industry environment has changed from the NTC era. In addition, there will be more spectrum blocks on different spectra made available for auction in the near future.

When the NBTC started developing its auction plan, it was based on a plan devised by the NTC. The NTC was set to auction licences in September 2010, but the move was suspended by a Central Administrative Court injunction as requested by CAT Telecom in its challenge to the NTC's licensing authority.

The NBTC intends to call bidding for 2.1GHZ licences in either the third or fourth quarter. After that it will prepare to auction the 1,800MHz spectrum blocks to be returned to it by TrueMove and Digital Phone Co in 2013. Each of them owns 12.5MHz bandwidth of the spectrum.

-- The Nation 2012-04-02

NBTC = NO Bloody idea Thai communications

5 mhz is bloody joke!

My bet is that they will end up doing nothing. Again.