The telecom regulator has refused to lower the reserve price of 17.58 billion baht for 10 megahertz of bandwidth for sale on the 700MHz spectrum, despite the three major mobile operators' complaints.
The decision came after the end of a hearing process on the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) website on Thursday.
The three operators -- Advanced Info Service, True Move H Universal Communication and Total Access Communication -- must submit proposals by June 19 with a bank guarantee worth 880 million baht if they want to buy a licence. The operators must choose the exact slots they want from the three licences.
If more than one buyer selects the same slot, the regulator will award the licence to whichever offers the highest price.
Takorn Tantasith, the NBTC's secretary-general, said the subcommittee for the sale approved the 700MHz licence conditions with the same details as the original conditions after the end of the hearing process.
Mr Takorn said the subcommittee insisted that the reserve price was "reasonable", despite quiet criticism from representatives of the three mobile operators at the public hearing on May 22.
The NBTC plans to sell 30MHz of bandwidth on the 700MHz band to the three operators, comprising 703-733MHz for upload and 758-788MHz for download.
The operators will each be allowed to extend their 900MHz licence payment terms for another five years, provided they also buy 700MHz licences, according to the Section 44 order invoked by the government.
The first licence covers 703-713MHz for upload and 758-768 MHz for download. The second covers 713-723 MHz for upload and 768-778MHz for download. The third covers 723-733 MHz for upload and 778-788MHz for download.
Each licence has a term of 15 years. Buyers have to pay under a 10-year instalment plan, with 10% payable per year.
Mr Takorn said the NBTC plans to submit its official draft for the 700MHz licence plan to the Royal Gazette on June 4, to be published in the week to come.
Last week, the three major mobile operators slammed the reserve price of 17.58 billion baht for each 700MHz licence, saying it was too expensive relative to previous prices worldwide. They remain uncertain about use cases for 5G.
The 700MHz range was auctioned by many countries in Europe, going for an average price of 7.35 billion baht per 10MHz.
In Asia, two countries have auctioned the 700MHz spectrum: Taiwan at 10 billion baht for 10MHz of bandwidth and Singapore at 15.4 billion baht for 10MHz.
The three operators urged the NBTC to lower the price to a value based on purchasing power priority, as well as real value utilisation of the range.
The companies said many of the use cases for 5G are unlikely to manifest in the next few years.
