News
Re-auction of 900-MHz spectrum for 4G services will take place on 27 May, government confirms.
Thailand’s military rulers this week ordered the telecoms regulator to hold the re-auction of the country’s remaining 900-MHz, 4G licence next month.
The junta requires the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to hold a new auction on 27 May, local newspaper The Nation reported.
The auction will enable the country to allocate the 900-MHz licence won by Jas Mobile in December’s auction, but later forfeited, when the operator failed to meet its payment deadline.
Rival operator AIS subsequently offered to buy the licence in question for 75.65 billion baht (€1.9 billion), but the regulator prefers to re-auction the spectrum, giving all of Thailand’s operators the chance to bid.
The NBTC initially planned to re-auction the airwaves on 24 June, but the government was reluctant to wait; General Prayut Chan-o-cha, prime minister and leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the name of the ruling junta, on Tuesday signed an order to bring forward the sale by almost a month, The Nation said.
The same order extended the deadline imposed on AIS for the shutdown of its 2G mobile service, which runs on the 900-MHz spectrum. It now has until 30 June or the date on which the NBTC awards the 900-MHz licence to the winning bidder, whichever comes sooner, the paper said.
