No laughing matter | Bangkok Post: news

Picture three groups pitted together in titanic struggle for pride, honour and bragging rights. At the end of a tense, stress-filled hour, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck emerge from their rooms with their hands high, while Goofy can only shake his head and consider what might have been.

The contest represented only a test of wills, computer systems and auction procedures. In 13 days, teams from Thailand's top three mobile phone providers will gather in a similar setting and play a similar game, but with tens of billions of baht on the line.

The National Telecommunications Commission is gearing up for what will be a major milestone in the history of the Thai telecom industry: the sale of two licences to build and operate a third-generation wireless network.