National Telecom sees imminent end to capacity allotment
text size

National Telecom sees imminent end to capacity allotment

Move refers to mobile virtual networks

Listen to this article
Play
Pause
The headquarters of National Telecom (NT). NT does not plan to participate in the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's auction of six spectrum ranges scheduled to take place in April 2025.
The headquarters of National Telecom (NT). NT does not plan to participate in the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's auction of six spectrum ranges scheduled to take place in April 2025.

Telecom state enterprise National Telecom (NT) has decided to stop allocating spectrum capacity to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) as its right to use the 850MHz, 2100MHz and 2300MHz spectrum bands expires at the end of August 2025.

An MVNO is a mobile phone service provider that does not have its own dedicated cellular network, instead renting other networks to provide the services.

According to NT president Col Sanphachai Huvanandana, NT will have only the 700MHz spectrum it won via an auction in 2020 following the expiry of the three other spectrum bands in August.

NT has no plan to participate in the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's (NBTC) auction of six spectrum ranges. The regulator is scheduled to hold the auction in April this year.

Several MVNOs lack liquidity and are unable to pay the service fees to NT as they face a high cost of roaming with other networks to provide the service, Col Sanphachai added.

Col Sanphachai said that after the expiration of NT's three bands, NT will exit the MVNO market.

NT has around five MVNO contracts with combined customers of only more than 100,000 subscriptions.

"The NBTC has a duty to help the MVNOs survive. If it wants NT to help push the MVNO ecosystem, the regulator should issue rules to control roaming rates to make them fair, similar to the network interconnection charge rates between major mobile operators," Col Sanphachai said.

NT was formed through the merger of state telecom agencies TOT and CAT Telecom in 2021.

Somphop Purivigraipong, the NBTC commissioner who is responsible for telecom business affairs, said that the MVNO business which has been in place since the era of TOT and CAT cannot continue operations due to their high network roaming costs, while NT does not have frequencies to support them after the licences of the three bands expire.

This has led the MVNOs to look for a way out by renting networks of other telecom operators.

Mr Somphop said a new idea proposed by foreign consultants is that the model of wholesale providers or mobile virtual network aggregators (MVNAs) may help MVNOs survive.

An MVNA buys wholesale mobile and data services from major telecom operators and sells them to MVNOs.

However, due to legal limitations, regulating the roaming fee ceiling cannot be easily done, so it must be left to those in the businesses to conduct negotiations by themselves, he added.

"We do regulate, but when the market is commercial, intervention may not be the right answer," he said.

NBTC will hold a public hearing on the auction draft of six spectrum ranges on Feb 6.

Mr Somphop added that NBTC is preparing to propose the MVNA model during the hearing, in which there will be discussions on ways to maintain a balance between major network providers and small MVNOs.

Several MVNOs are rushing to strike new deals with other mobile networks following the upcoming expiration of NT's three spectrum bands.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (1)