News
Government reportedly rejects AIS offer to acquire forfeited 4G spectrum.
Thailand may bring forward the re-auction of forfeited 4G spectrum to May, and has rejected mobile operator AIS’s offer to acquire the frequencies.
According to a report by the Bangkok Post on Friday, deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam wants to begin the process as soon as possible, which could be in mid-May. The controversial section 44 of Thailand’s interim constitution – which grants the government power to impose laws "for the benefit of reform in any field" – could be invoked in order to speed things along, he said.
The report also claimed that the regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), has rejected an offer from AIS to acquire the spectrum for 75.65 billion baht (€1.93 billion), equal to Jas Mobile’s winning bid in December’s 4G auction.
The reason given was that the watchdog wants to give all telcos the chance to purchase the frequencies.
Thailand is scrambling to allocate the second of two 900-MHz 4G licences that were auctioned in December. The licence in question was won by Jas Mobile, but it forfeited the spectrum after missing the 21 March payment deadline.
The NBTC initially planned to re-auction the airwaves on 24 June; however, it seems the government does not want to wait that long.
Unsurprisingly, Jas Mobile will not be allowed to take part.
