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Thai regulator expected to take legal action; AIS gets temporary 2G reprieve.
Jas Mobile Broadband late last week failed to confirm it will pay its 4G licence fee by today’s deadline, casting further doubt over its entry into Thailand’s mobile market.
"As a general practice, everyone who won an auction informed us formally to confirm their payment one working day before the payment date. Jas is the first in our history that has failed to send a letter," said Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of Thai telco regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), in a Bangkok Post report on Friday.
Jas won one of two 900-MHz spectrum licences up for grabs in December’s 4G auction with a bid of 75.65 billion baht (€1.93 billion). The other successful bidder was True Corp subsidiary True Move H Universal Communication (TUC).
Failing to notify the NBTC of an impending payment does not constitute a rule breach, Tantasith said; nonetheless, it does not bode well, and Jas will face sanctions if it does not pay.
Under the rules, the NBTC would confiscate the THB645 million (€16.4 million) paid by Jas to participate in the auction.
According to the Bangkok Post, the watchdog is also likely to take legal action against Jas.
Furthermore, the operating licences of Jas’ parent company, Jasmine International, which provides fixed broadband and TV services in Thailand, could be revoked.
Meanwhile, on a related note, Thai mobile operator AIS last week secured an extension to its 2G licence.
AIS’s 2G service runs on 900-MHz spectrum, the same spectrum that was re-allocated for 4G services in December’s auction.
AIS was initially given until 14 March to vacate the frequencies and shut down its network, and had been busy migrating affected subscribers to rival Total Access Communication (DTAC) under a roaming agreement.
However, on deadline day, some 400,000 customers were still on AIS’s 900-MHz network, and so the operator petitioned Thailand’s Central Administrative Court to impose an injunction against the closure of its network.
In a statement last week, AIS revealed it has been granted a temporary injunction, and now has until 14 April to finish switching its customers.
"AIS will continue to aggressively promote and migrate 2G customers to ensure the service continuity and mitigate the impact from service shutdown," said AIS chief executive Somchai Lertsutiwong, in a statement on Wednesday.
