Four vying for more 4G licences

Four vying for more 4G licences

Four companies battled on Tuesday for more fourth generation (4G) mobile spectrum in an auction expected to net at least 70 billion baht for a military government struggling to revive the country's economic growth.

Regulators are putting on the block two 10-megahertz licences in the 900-megahertz spectrum.

The licences are good for 15 years, with the starting price set at 12.864 billion baht each.

In the 30th round at 7.08pm on Tuesday, the bidding price was 24.13 billion baht for each of the two licences.

Three of the bidders are subsidiaries of the three largest mobile operators — Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS), Total Access Communications Plc (DTAC) and True Corporation. A subsidiary of Jasmine International Plc, an internet service provider, also joined the auction as its parent sought to enter the mobile internet fray.   

Shares in the top two operators AIS and DTAC surged on expectation that they will win licences to prevent the newcomer from entering the 241-billion-baht telecom market, analysts said.

AIS and True paid a combined 80.9 billion baht for the first set of 4G licences auctioned last month.

Unlike top executives of other bidders, Jasmine's CEO was the only one who did not join the company's bidding team and the market took this as a sign that Jasmine may not bid aggressively.

AIS shares, which hit near a two-year low on Monday, closed up 10.82%. DTAC surged 16.67% while True rose 9.03%, while the main Thai index was 2.6% higher.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) told a news conference bidding prices might be lower than the previous auction in November given Jasmine is estimated to have an upper bidding limit at 28 billion baht.

"DTAC and True will be key drivers pushing up bidding prices," NBTC member Pravit Leestapornvongsa said, adding Jasmine's profitability could be hit if it pays licence cost at higher than the limit.

The auction continues until 9pm before a three-hour break. Bidding will resume at midnight and continue until 6am. If no winner has emerged by then, the process will start again at 9am on Wednesday.

The new 4G spectrum will enable companies to expand network capacity and tap robust demand for mobile data in a saturated market, where mobile phone penetration is more than 140%.

AIS, 23%-owned by Singapore Telecommunications, has lagged its rivals on 4G services due to limited bandwidth capacity. The company plans a commercial launch of 4G services in late January.

DTAC, controlled by Norway's Telenor, wants the 900MHz band licence to reduce its costs, while True, 18%-owned by China Mobile, could have rising debt burden if it bids aggressively, analysts said.

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