The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday awarded only the right to use the 50.5° East slot -- out of three proposed slots -- to TC Space Connect, a subsidiary of Thaicom as it deems that its bid proposal complies with the awarding terms and conditions of such a slot.
The approval solves the urgent issue concerning the country's right to use the 50.5°E orbital slot, which is set to expire on Nov 27.
Thaicom proposed keeping the country's rights to the 50.5°E slot by using the Thaicom 9A satellite that it earlier planned to use for operating its upcoming service on the 119.5°E orbital slot in the first quarter of 2025.
Thaicom's other subsidiary, Space Tech Innovation (STI), won the rights to use the 119.5°E orbital slot in an auction held in 2023.
As a result of the plan to shift the Thaicom 9A satellite to the 50.5°E slot, STI must adjust its existing plan for the launch of three satellites to the 119.5°E and 78.5°E orbits, said Somphop Purivigraipong, the NBTC commissioner responsible for the telecom sector.
TC Space Connect was the sole company to have submitted a bid proposal on the submission date of Oct 7 to apply for the rights to use two unsold packages of the three slots. The awarding method is a combined method of direct awarding and beauty contest.
Each of the two packages comprises the 50.5°E, 51°E and 142°E orbits. The board considered the winner's name yesterday.
Mr Somphop said the NBTC board rejected awarding TC Space Connect the rights to use the 51°E and 142°E orbital slots, given that the company's bid proposal was not in line with the NBTC's requirements regarding these two.
He said the company proposed that if it was awarded the licences for these two orbits, TC Space Connect would transfer the rights to use them to another company that would be established in future within the Thaicom Group.
"The company did not give a reason why the rights to use 51°E and 142°E orbits have to be transferred and operated by another new company."
Mr Somphop said the company's proposal for the 51°E and 142°E orbits lacked important details, such as the financial guarantee fee for the 51°E orbit and too low an amount for the financial guarantee figure for the 142°E orbit.
The NBTC board assigned its management to prepare to announce a new plan for awarding the rights to use the 51°E and 142°E orbits within 60 days. The awarding method is the same combined methods of direct award and beauty contest.
"If Thaicom is interested in the new round for the 51°E and 142°E orbits, it has to operate these two with the company that will submit the bid proposal," Mr Somphop said.
Thaicom can set up a new company to submit the bid in this planned new round, he added.
According to Thaicom's plan, Thaicom 9A satellite is to ensure the company can continuously provide services to existing customers before the Thaicom 4 satellite ends its engineering lifespan by mid-2026.
Thaicom is set to launch three new satellites to the 119.5°E orbit, including Thaicom 9A, Thaicom9 and Thaicom10.
Of the three new satellites in total, the two small satellites, including Thaicom 9A and Thaicom9, are scheduled to launch a service by the first quarter and third quarter of 2025, respectively, while the last one, which would be a bigger satellite, is expected to launch a service by the end of 2027.
Mr Somphop said STI originally planned to rent a foreign satellite and drag it to the 119.5°E slot as the 9A satellite as well as rent some transponder capacity of the KoreaSat 7 satellite for operating at 119.5°E to support the 9A satellite.
He added that he personally thinks that STI could rent more transponder capacity of the KoreaSat 7 satellite to provide the service at 119.5°E, if it doesn't use the 9A satellite at the 119.5°E orbit.
