True Corporation chief Suphachai Chearavanont says the telecommunications industry should be treated on an equal footing with the digital TV sector, if the state decides to push forward with its aid for broadcast operators.
"Telecom and digital TV both use the country's frequency, and both participated in licence auctions that were unduly high," Mr Suphachai, chairman of the executive committee of True Corporation, told the Bangkok Post. "Prices for 2015's 4G spectrum auction were the second-highest in the world, after the US.
"It's about fairness and preventing discrimination. If the government gives assistance to digital TV operators, then True Move and Advanced Info Service [AIS], winners of the 4G licence auction, should get assistance too."
He says digital TV licences and the 900-megahertz licences are "critically" similar.
Both auctions resulted in unduly high winning prices, Mr Suphachai says. The winning prices of the 900MHz licence auction in 2015 were the highest winning prices in Asia and the second highest in the world, after the US (taking into account per capita income).
Secondly, both procedures auctioned the right to use spectrum, a national resource, to provide services.
Thirdly, digital TV and 900MHz licence holders both have varying degrees of financial strength.
Several TV operators are in a position to pay for licences, while others cannot afford to do so. In the same way, AIS has higher cash flow than True Move, Mr Suphachai says.
"I don't want to comment on whether AIS or True Move are in a position to liquidate the last 60 billion baht of licence payments in 2020, but I insist this policy must be considered unfair and discriminatory," he says.
AIS and True Move have asked the government to break down the last payment into five yearly instalments (from 2020 to 2024), with a 1.5% interest rate payable to the state for the extension period. AIS and True Move are due to pay the last instalments of 59.5 billion and 60.2 billion baht in 2019, respectively.
"We did not ask for a reduction in the payment amount. Neither are we defaulting," Mr Suphachai says.
At first the two firms asked for a 10-year payment extension, settling on a five-year term with the state.
High winning licence prices, digital media, an oversupply of channels and declining ad revenue are some of the factors threatening TV operators, Mr Suphachai says.
High winning prices in the 900MHz auction were mainly driven by JAS Mobile Broadband, which secured a licence slot but failed to make the first licence payment in March 2016.
JAS had its slot and a 645-million-baht deposit guarantee confiscated, and the company was ordered to pay a 200-million-baht fine.
The willingness to grant True Move governmental assistance will be a significant factor in the company's decision on whether to join the planned 1800MHz-spectrum auction, Mr Suphachai says.
The 1800MHz spectrum range is now operated by Total Access Communication (DTAC) under a concession from state-owned telecom enterprise CAT Telecom, which is due to expire on Sept 30. The spectrum provides 90MHz of bandwidth for upload and download (or 45x2 MHz).
"True Move has enough bandwidth to meet customer demand over the next two years," Mr Suphachai says.
True Move operates 3G and 4G services through the 850-, 900-, 1800- and 2100MHz spectra.
Mr Suphachai says he supports the existing NBTC's 1800MHz auction draft, which sets a 37.45 billion reserve price (for 30MHz of bandwidth upload and download). The price, based on the winning price of the 2015 1800MHz auction, ensures that operators pay the same price for their licences.
"For True Move and AIS, it is not a matter of whether the 1800MHz auction will be delayed or be held before their concessions expire in September," he says, adding that no spectrum ranges under concession were reallocated via auction before their expiry.
The 1800MHz spectrum, previously operated by AIS subsidiary Digital Phone and True Move, was auctioned in 2015, two years after the concession under CAT Telecom expired.
The 900MHz licence previously run by AIS was auctioned in December 2015 -- three months after its concession expired.