NBTC to mull using DTAC’s 4G spectrum for auction

The national telecom regulator has finally decided to reconsider whether to accept an offer proposed by mobile operator Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC) to offer its unused frequency for fourth-generation (4G) spectrum auctions.

But the offer of DTAC’s additional five megahertz of bandwidth on the 1800-MHz spectrum for 4G auctions must come without any conditions or compensation, and it must be returned before July 17, the date set for the auction’s public hearing, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said.

“Having an additional five MHz of bandwidth on the 1800-MHz spectrum will allow a contiguous spectrum that will eliminate inefficiency and waste inherent in block sizes,” NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said.

The NBTC will hold an auction for two licences for 25 MHz of bandwidth on the 1800-MHz spectrum, each containing 12.5 MHz of bandwidth. The auction is slated for Nov 11.

Industry veterans and mobile operators said a 12.5 MHz band was too small to deliver a high-quality mobile broadband connection.

Mr Takorn said adding an additional five MHz did not require any complicated processes, and the 4G auctions could move forward as scheduled.

Earlier, the information and communication technology (ICT) minister proposed to the national digital economy committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha that DTAC offer up the unused bandwidth. But the committee rejected the proposal, saying it did not want the auctions to be delayed further.

Col Sanpachai Huvanandana, acting chief executive of CAT Telecom, said CAT executives would discuss the issue with NBTC members this week.

In another development, ICT Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa urged TOT Plc and CAT Telecom to end their decade-long disputes with their concessionaires by September in order to push forward the development of the country’s digital economy and the planned creation of a national telecommunications network pool.

Mr Pornchai said the government was urging four ministries to implement telecom network sharing to reduce investment and operating costs.

The four are the Energy, ICT, Education and Public Health ministries.

The telecommunications network pool is aimed at synergising the capacity of existing state agency telecom networks under the ministries in order to share or lease the networks to operators, hopefully providing services that would increase internet penetration nationwide.