The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has decided to cancel a satellite orbital slot auction slated for Aug 28 after only one contender was left in the contest.
NBTC acting secretary-general Trairat Viriyasirikul on Wednesday announced the decision to scrap the auction planned for Aug 28, citing a lack of bids for four satellite orbital slot packages.
The decision came after National Telecom changed its mind about joining the contest, ignoring the Aug 11 deadline to submit the bid document.
The U-turn left TC Space Connect, wholly owned by SET-listed satellite service provider Thaicom, as the sole bidder.
It was the second time the auction had been called off. On July 7, the telecom regulator decided to postpone the auction to from July 24 to Aug 28 after TC Space Connect was the only firm to participate in the bidding.
No new bidding date has been set this time.
The news plunged Thaicom shares 80 satang or 7% to close at 10.10 baht in heavy trade of 626 million baht.