The bidding ran for just over five hours on Sunday, 16 February 2020, and when it stopped Thailand’s telecoms regulator had 100.52 billion baht ($3.2 billion) in hand. Reuters reported that operators took 48 licenses in the country’s first 5G spectrum auctions, ahead of a commercial rollout expected later in the year.
Five companies qualified to bid: AIS, True Move H, Dtac, CAT Telecom and TOT. Nobody showed up for the 1800MHz band, which was also on offer. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) had estimated beforehand that the sale would send more than 70,000 million baht to the state. It cleared that figure comfortably. The exact total, before VAT, came to 100,521,177,777 baht, according to the NBTC results reported by TechOffside.
Who bought what
Advanced Info Service, the country’s top mobile operator, was the biggest winner. It took 23 licenses, one or more in each of the three bands, and 1,310 MHz of spectrum for 42,060 million baht. True won 17 licenses. Dtac won two, both in the 26GHz band.
The state-run firms CAT Telecom and TOT, which are due to merge into National Telecom (NT), bid at an auction for the first time. They won six licenses between them.
Band by band
The 700MHz low band went for 51.46 billion baht after 20 rounds. CAT won two of the three 2×5-MHz licenses, at 34,306 million baht. AIS took the third for 17,154 million baht and beat True to it.
The mid-band 2600MHz spectrum, 19 licenses of 10 MHz each, split between AIS with 10 and True with nine. The total was 37.43 billion baht, and CAT won none.
The 26GHz high band was the cheapest. Of 27 licenses offered, 26 were sold for a combined 11.63 billion baht. AIS won 12, True eight, TOT four and Dtac two.
Payment terms and the economic case
Winners of the 700MHz and 2600MHz licenses pay the government over a 10-year period, in 10 and seven installments respectively, under the auction terms. Winners of 26GHz licenses must pay in full within one year.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said that “Thailand’s 5G technology is expected to help drive the economy by at least 177 billion baht this year, accounting for 1.02% of the country’s GDP.” He expected that value to nearly double in 2021. The NBTC said the results would be officially confirmed the following Wednesday.
Sources
- กสทช. สรุปประมูล 5G รวมเกิน 1 แสนล้านบาท AIS ได้ครบทุกความถี่ 700MHz, 2600MHz และ 26GHz
- Thailand raises $3.2 billion at 5G license auctions | Reuters
