News
Thai operator reportedly offers to acquire spectrum for same price it was sold at December’s auction.
Thai mobile operator AIS on Tuesday offered to acquire the 4G licence forfeited in March by Jas Mobile.
According to a report by local news outlet The Nation, AIS subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) is willing to pay 75.65 billion baht (€1.93 billion) for the spectrum, equal to Jas Mobile’s winning bid in December’s 4G auction.
AWN made the offer in a confidential letter to Thai telco regulator the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The watchdog is due to consider the proposal today.
Thailand’s 4G licensing process was thrown into disarray earlier this month when Jas Mobile, which won one of two 900-MHz spectrum licences up for grabs in December, failed to pay for the spectrum by the 21 March deadline.
The NBTC has reportedly set 24 June as the date for re-auctioning the frequencies; however, AIS’s offer may have given it pause for thought.
According to Tuesday’s Nation report, the NBTC might ask for government permission to set up a meeting with AWN to negotiate a deal.
If the NBTC agrees with the proposal, AWN will call a shareholder meeting to vote on whether to go ahead with it, which could take up to two months to arrange.
AWN has also proposed that in the event that a deal is struck, the NBTC should consider allowing AIS to continue using the 900-MHz spectrum for 2G services until the shareholder meeting takes place.
One of the 900-MHz spectrum lots sold in December was being used by AIS for its 2G service. It was supposed to vacate the frequencies by 14 March, but on deadline day some 400,000 customers were still on the network.
Thailand’s Central Administrative Court granted it a temporary injunction, giving AIS until 14 April to finish switching its customers.
