TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The minimum reserve prices for 3G mobile broadband spectrum have been set in the range of US$100-200 million (3.3 to 6.6 billion baht) by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Gen Choochart Promprasit, the chairman of the industry regulator, said the prices would be submitted to the NTC board for approval on Wednesday along with the draft 3G auction rules and comments by the prime minister.

He said the prices were considered thoroughly based on several criteria. These included industry data, auction prices in other countries, prices of spectrum that TOT had returned to the NTC, and prices of the 1900 MHz spectrum that TOT bought from CAT Telecom for the Thai Mobile service.

He said the auctions would be for four licences for a total of 45 MHz. Three licences would be for 10 MHz each and one for 15 MHz spectrum, which would have a higher minimum reserve price.

Gen Choochart said the NTC would call another public hearing on Oct 29 to respond to questions industry executives raised at the first session on Sept 28.

He insisted that the six-member NTC board still had the authority work on policy matters although three of them had drawn lots to quit two years ago but their replacements were never named.

True Corp vice-chairman Athueck Asvanont said that his company's board had discussed the 3G auction and how it could prepare for it.

He said True wanted changes in the draft auction rules, in particular calling on the NTC not to focus merely on the money it could earn, and not to discourage Thai-controlled companies.

Mr Athueck said it was important that companies such as True could compete fairly with larger rivals with major "foreign state" shareholders.

The comment was a reference to top-ranked Advanced Info service, which has Singapore's Temasek Holdings as a major shareholder, and second-ranked DTAC, controlled by Telenor of Norway.

He said True suggested that qualified bidders should be companies in which foreign firms held shares via investment funds but had no voting rights.

Another option was to allow Thai companies to possess 3G spectrum at more than half of the allocated amount.