A series of licence auctions for fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband services are set to take place between August 2014 and September 2015, says the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
Settapong: Cannot extend grace period
An auction of licences for 25 megahertz of bandwidth on the 1800-MHz spectrum, previously used by True Move and Digital Phone Co (DPC), will take place this August. Another auction of a 17.5-MHz band of the 900-MHz spectrum, which is in use by mobile leader Advanced Info Service (AIS), is scheduled for November. And an auction of 50-MHz of bandwidth on the 1800-MHz spectrum, now in use by Total Access Communication (DTAC), is set for September next year.
The 900- and 1800-MHz spectrum, being used by AIS and DTAC, will be auctioned before their concessions expire. The winners will hold the spectrum rights after the concessions expire.
The concession of AIS from TOT Plc will expire in March 2015, while DTAC's concession from CAT Telecom is due to end by 2018. Only half of DTAC's 50-MHz bandwidth is being used.
Col Settapong Malisuwan, the NBTC's vice-chairman, said a draft information memorandum for an auction will not specify what exact technologies the winners need to use, depending on their business strategies.
A bidder can join all three auctions. The NBTC will set caps on the amount of spectrum for one bidder to encourage fair bidding, he said.
Col Settapong said the NBTC's telecom committee must complete the first licence auction by August to grant two 4G licences in September when True Move and DPC migrate all their customers. Both companies were allowed to retain their customers for another year after their concessions expired in September last year, but are not allowed to acquire new subscribers.
True Move still has 11 million customers on this spectrum, down from 17 million last October. DPC has 40,000 users, down from 70,000.
He insisted the NBTC can no longer extend the grace period for both companies, as it may face a possible legal backlash under the Frequency Allocation Act, which stipulates that spectrum must be reallocated after concessions expire.
The NBTC initially agreed to auction the three different frequencies in a package bid, a common practice internationally, that allows bidders to make a single bid for a group of frequencies or licences.
Col Settapong said a package bid is a good option for operators to offer 4G commercial services, as they require at least 15 MHz bandwidth to provide efficient service.
But the regulator is concerned about possible legal conflicts in the future as package bidding could cause more problems than a single auction because of the remaining life of some concessions.
He said the NBTC fears the package bidding method might spur criticism that the agency wants private mobile operators to accelerate mobile services under licensing, as it has lower costs than the concession system.