Mobile LTE has withdrawn its bid for a 4G licence in next month's auction for the 900-megahertz spectrum, saying it is beyond its financial and managerial capacity.
"We have decided not to submit our bidding documents to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Thursday," chief executive Yanyong Akrajindanon said.
"We'll focus on our proposal to become a strategic partner of TOT Plc to provide mobile service."
After a thorough study, Mr Yanyong admitted the 900-MHz project was too large for his company's capacity.
The withdrawal will leave only six companies in the auction on Nov 12.
They are Advanced Wireless Network, the 3G mobile unit of mobile leader Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS); Total Access Communication Plc subsidiaries DTAC TriNet and DTAC Broadband; True Move H subsidiaries True Move Universal Communication and Hutchison Telecommunications (Thailand); and Jas Mobile Broadband, a subsidiary of Jasmine International.
Founded by a group of investors last October with 100 million baht in registered capital, Mobile LTE has AIT holding a 20% stake.
Mobile LTE is among five companies to submit proposals to form a strategic partnership with TOT.
The others are AIS, Samart I-Mobile Plc, Loxley Wireless Plc and True Corporation.
"We want to provide mobile service with TOT under the mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) model," Mr Yanyong said.
An MVNE is a company that provides network infrastructure and related services such as network subsystems, business support systems administration and operations to companies that provide mobile services without their own network.
TOT needs private partnerships to help it develop and operate mobile business in order to ease its ailing financial status.
After several months of delays, TOT's board will today settle its strategic partnership plans before the NBTC's 4G spectrum auctions take place next month.
A TOT board director said the delay was because TOT was waiting for advice from the State Enterprise Policy Office on whether the proposals of the five private companies were subject to the rules of the public-private joint venture law.
Djitt Laowattana, another director, said TOT would ask potential partners to change some details of their proposals to comply with the state telecom's policies.