Auction day finally descends !!!

 

 

Thailand's first fourth-generation (4G) licence auctions
 Wednesday can expect a bidding war, with four bidders
vying for two licences on the 1800-megahertz spectrum.

 The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications

Commission (NBTC) will provisionally allocate two blocks

 of 1800-MHz spectrum to only two companies to

provide 4G services.

The most intense bidding is likely to come from Advanced

 Info Service Plc (AIS) Plc (AIS) for an 1800-MHz licence,

 as the country's largest mobile operator has the least

 amount of operating bandwidth. The four bidders are AIS

 subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network; DTAC Trinet,

a subsidiary of Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC);

True Move H Universal Communications, a unit of True

 Move; and JAS Mobile Broadband, a subsidiary of

Jasmine International. (Story continues below)

 

4G is a modern technology that Thailand requires for quicker

 data access over cellular networks. It can typically deliver

 three to 20 times the download speeds of 3G devices, reaching

 up to 40 Mbps.

This can reduce buffering times and improve audio quality,

gaming experience and streaming services.

 NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith believes the four

bidders will fight competitively for the two licences on

offer Wednesday.

 "The bid price for an 1800-MHz licence will exceed 20 billion

baht," he declared. The NBTC is slated to auction two licences

 of 15 MHz of bandwidth each on the 1800-MHz spectrum

Wednesday.

 The reserve price starts at 15.9 billion baht per 15-MHz licence, representing 80% of the estimated real spectrum value.

 AIS has only 15 MHz of bandwidth on the 2100-MHz

 spectrum to operate 3G service.

The company's concession with TOT Plc to provide 2G mobile

 service on 17.5 MHz of bandwidth on the 900-MHz spectrum

expired in September.

The three major mobile operators -- AIS, DTAC and True 

 Move -- provide 3G service on 15 MHz of bandwidth each

of the 2100-MHz spectrum.

 As of September, AIS had 37.8 million subscribers including

 35.9 million 3G customers. AIS has not yet provided

commercial 4G service, while rivals DTAC and True

Move have.

 Second-ranked DTAC boasts the highest bandwidth with

 50 MHz on the 1800-MHz spectrum, plus 10 MHz of the

 analog 850-MHz frequency for data servce .

 Its concession with CAT Telecom will expire in 2018.

Third-ranked True Move, through subsidiaries Real Move

 and Real Future, operates 3G on 15 MHz of bandwidth on

 the 850-MHz spectrum together with its concession owner

CAT Telecom.

True Move was the first company to launch commercial 4G

 service, while DTAC's 4G commercial service is available

 on a limited scale. DTAC has 1.9 million 4G users and

expects the figure will increase to 2.5 million by year-end.

 True Move has 1.8 million 4G users and expects to reach 2

 million this year.

Mr Takorn believes JAS Mobile Broadband will put in a

 strong bid for a 1800-MHz licence after the company

 entered into a partnership with a South Korean telecom.

 "AIS may bid as high as 140% of the estimated real spectrum

 value, reaching a value of 27.8 billion baht," an industry

source said.

Mr Takorn reiterated the NBTC had strict measures to

prevent collusion among the bidders.

 "I can guarantee it will be very difficult for bidders to collude,"

 he said.
"If we find irregularities in the bidding, our commission will

immediately initiate an investigation."

The NBTC requires the winning bidders to expand their 4G
networks to cover 40% of the population within four years of
 receiving a licence.

Industry veterans are of the opinion that a 4G network will
 propel Thailand's mobile broadband infrastructure and bring
 the country towards a new era of data communication.

"I believe mobile data competition will accelerate the Thai
market for data centres, cloud technology and big data analytics,
 which will open up a whole new chapter of data communication
 and redefine how do business," one veteran said.



Business,Telecom,Bangkok Post, 11 November 2015.

 

Hope there is tranparency in the auction .

And every company operate with the economy price for

customer.

 

Sincerey Yours.