Thailand's first fourth-generation (4G) licence auctions Wednesday can expect a bidding war, with four bidders vying for two licences on the 1800-megahertz spectrum.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will provisionally allocate two blocks of 1800-MHz spectrum to only two companies to provide 4G services.
The most intense bidding is likely to come from Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS) for an 1800-MHz licence, as the country's largest mobile operator has the least amount of operating bandwidth.
The four bidders are AIS subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network; DTAC Trinet, a subsidiary of Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC); True Move H Universal Communications, a unit of True Move; and JAS Mobile Broadband, a subsidiary of Jasmine International. (Story continues below)
4G is a modern technology that Thailand requires for quicker data access over cellular networks.
It can typically deliver three to 20 times the download speeds of 3G devices, reaching up to 40 Mbps.
This can reduce buffering times and improve audio quality, gaming experience and streaming services.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith believes the four bidders will fight competitively for the two licences on offer Wednesday.
"The bid price for an 1800-MHz licence will exceed 20 billion baht," he declared.
The NBTC is slated to auction two licences of 15 MHz of bandwidth each on the 1800-MHz spectrum Wednesday.
The reserve price starts at 15.9 billion baht per 15-MHz licence, representing 80% of the estimated real spectrum value.
AIS has only 15 MHz of bandwidth on the 2100-MHz spectrum to operate 3G service. The company's concession with TOT Plc to provide 2G mobile service on 17.5 MHz of bandwidth on the 900-MHz spectrum expired in September.
The three major mobile operators -- AIS, DTAC and True Move -- provide 3G service on 15 MHz of bandwidth each of the 2100-MHz spectrum.
As of September, AIS had 37.8 million subscribers including 35.9 million 3G customers.
AIS has not yet provided commercial 4G service, while rivals DTAC and True Move have.
Second-ranked DTAC boasts the highest bandwidth with 50 MHz on the 1800-MHz spectrum, plus 10 MHz of the analog 850-MHz frequency for data servce. Its concession with CAT Telecom will expire in 2018.
Third-ranked True Move, through subsidiaries Real Move and Real Future, operates 3G on 15 MHz of bandwidth on the 850-MHz spectrum together with its concession owner CAT Telecom.
True Move was the first company to launch commercial 4G service, while DTAC's 4G commercial service is available on a limited scale.
DTAC has 1.9 million 4G users and expects the figure will increase to 2.5 million by year-end.
True Move has 1.8 million 4G users and expects to reach 2 million this year.
Mr Takorn believes JAS Mobile Broadband will put in a strong bid for a 1800-MHz licence after the company entered into a partnership with a South Korean telecom.
"AIS may bid as high as 140% of the estimated real spectrum value, reaching a value of 27.8 billion baht," an industry source said.
Mr Takorn reiterated the NBTC had strict measures to prevent collusion among the bidders.
"I can guarantee it will be very difficult for bidders to collude," he said.
"If we find irregularities in the bidding, our commission will immediately initiate an investigation."
The NBTC requires the winning bidders to expand their 4G networks to cover 40% of the population within four years of receiving a licence.
Industry veterans are of the opinion that a 4G network will propel Thailand's mobile broadband infrastructure and bring the country towards a new era of data communication.
"I believe mobile data competition will accelerate the Thai market for data centres, cloud technology and big data analytics, which will open up a whole new chapter of data communication and redefine how Thais live as well as how companies do business," one veteran said.