The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) board has awarded the right to use the 51°E and 142°E orbital slots to two Thaicom subsidiaries.
The regulator asked them to pay 0.25% of revenue for the right to the slots.
NBTC commissioner Somphop Purivigraipong said the board passed the resolution on April 24 to grant the 51°E orbital slot to TC 51, and the 142°E orbital slot to TC 42.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said yesterday the NBTC may have a good reason to award these rights to the companies, chiefly to avoid losing the country's right to use these orbits.
Late last year the NBTC sold the rights to use three orbital slots, comprising 50.5°E, 51°E and 142°E.
The rights were awarded using a combined method of direct awarding and a beauty contest.
Another Thaicom subsidiary, TC Space Connect, was the sole company to submit a bid proposal for licences to use all three orbits.
However, the NBTC awarded TC Space Connect a licence to use only the 50.5°E orbit, noting the details of the company's bid proposals for the 51°E and 142°E orbits did not comply with its requirements.
The NBTC board told its management to prepare a new awarding of the unsold 51°E and 142°E orbits within 60 days, under the same conditions.
Thaicom already dragged the Thaicom 9A satellite to the 50.5°E orbit before the country's right to use the slot expired on Nov 27, 2024.
In 2023, the NBTC held the country's first auction of satellite orbit slots, offering five packages: 50.5°E and 51°E orbital slots with a reserve price of 374 million baht; 78.5°E with a reserve price of 360 million baht; 119.5°E and 120°E with a reserve price of 397 million baht; 126°E with a reserve of 8.6 million baht; and 142°E with a reserve of 189 million.
Thaicom affiliate Space Tech Innovation grabbed the second package for 380 million baht and the third package for 417 million baht.
National Telecom secured the fourth package for 9.07 million baht.
The first and fifth packages were unsold at the auction.