This article is compiled from Malaysia The Star , ” Bangkok Post “ < / a> and Mobileworldlive .

On February 16, local time, Thai telecommunications regulators raised 100.52 billion baht in a 5G spectrum auction. (about 3.2 billion U.S. dollars) . On this day, 48 license plates were quickly divided up by them.

At the end of October last year, the Thai telecommunications regulator announced that it will auction the 5G spectrum of 4 frequency bands for the first time on February 16 to promote the application of this ultra-high-speed wireless technology nationwide. These four frequency bands are 700MHz and 1800MHz respectively, 2600MHz and 26GHz. The Bangkok Post reported on October 31 that at the time the government estimated that these bands could sell for at least 157 billion baht.

But in November, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid (Somkid Jatusripitak) was visiting the country’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Digital Economy and Society Ministry) warned the government not to focus on the huge revenue generated by spectrum auctions. I don’t know if this call is one of the reasons why the transaction price is much lower than the estimated price.

Previously, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) stated that the most popular frequency bands for mobile operators are 2600MHz and 26GHz because Most of the countries already using 5G technology in the world also use these two frequency bands.

19 licenses will be distributed in the 2600MHz band. Each license contains 10MHz bandwidth. The reserved price is 1.86 billion baht, with a total value of 35.3 billion baht.

The 26GHz band contains 27 licenses, each with 100MHz bandwidth and a reserve price of 300 million baht. Therefore, the total value of these 27 licenses is 8.1 billion baht.

The 700MHz band is divided into three licenses, each of which contains a 5MHz bandwidth, and the reserve price is 8.7 billion baht; there will be 7 licenses in the 1800MHz range, each license contains 5MHz, and the reserve price is 12.4 billion baht.

National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) Takorn Tantasit Secretary-General (Takorn Tantasith) has stated that the regulator aims to earn 43 billion baht in upcoming auctions in the 2600MHz and 26GHz bands, and he also acknowledged that the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz ranges may affect Major operators are not attractive.

Takorn said that the reserved price for the 2600 MHz band is based on (Chulalongkorn University) , Chiang Mai University (Chiang Mai University) , and Thailand Development Institute (Thailand Development Research Institute) , and the reserve price of the 26 GHz band refers to the (Chalmers University of Technology) .

NBTC’s previously released roadmap for 5G development in Thailand

In the auction on February 16, the biggest winner was Thailand’s largest mobile operator AIS Communications (Advanced Info Service Pcl) . The company won 23 licenses in three frequency bands in a five-hour auction. Thailand ’s second and third largest operators True Communications (True Corporation Pcl) and TAC Communications (Total Access Communication Pcl) obtained 17 and 2 licenses respectively. The newly merged state-owned enterprise CAT Telecom and TOTA telecommunications company (NT) also participated in the auction, and they obtained 6 licenses.

In the low-frequency band of 700 MHz, CAT won two 2×5 MHz licenses, and Singtel ’s AIS finally beat True for 51.46 billion baht after 20 rounds of bidding that lasted more than three hours. A license.

In the mid-band 2600 MHz spectrum, the licenses for 19 10-megahertz blocks are divided by AIS and True. The two companies have obtained 10 and 9 licenses, respectively, for a total price of 37.43 billion baht. It is worth mentioning that True Communications, controlled by Thai billionaire Xie Guomin (Dhanin Chearavanont) , actually has a Chinese background and China Mobile holds The company has an 18% stake.

DTAC, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Telenor Group, participated in the auction of 26 GHz in the high frequency band and took 2 of the 26 100 MHz license plates. AIS won 12, True Communications won 8 and TOT received the remaining 4 licenses.

In this way, the license price of the 26 GHz license was 11.63 billion baht, and the total auction price of 2600 MHz was 37.43 billion baht. The estimated 43 billion baht.

According to the payment method, the company that won the bid in the 26 GHz band must pay the full fee within one year; the companies that won the 700 MHz and 2600 MHz bands do not have to pay the entire amount in one year. They can pay in installments, but the maximum Can only be divided into 10 and 7 times, and the order must be paid within 10 years.

Taking the 2600 MHz frequency band as an example, in terms of payment terms, after obtaining the license, the operator must pay at least 10% of the winning price within one year; the next two to four years later, the operator will be paid Grace period; from the fifth year to the tenth year, the operator must pay 15% of the remaining license fee in installments each year.

According to this payment incentive, operators must be laid in the Eastern Thai Economic Corridor project (Eastern Economic Corridor project) 5G network. And within one year after obtaining the license, the 5G network will cover 50% of the project. In addition, operators must allow at least 50% of the population in the smart city area to enjoy 5G networks within four years. At the same time, the licensed company can only use these four frequency bands in the 5G network.

“Because 5G data transmission speeds are more than 100 times faster than 4G networks, this technology will play a strong role in promoting the development of the digital economy in this country.” Takorn added, “This year, 5G technology is expected to It contributed 177 billion baht to the growth of Thailand’s economy, accounting for 1.02% of the country’s GDP. “

According to the 5G plan roadmap issued by the Thai telecommunications regulator, the country hopes to start 5G services in July this year; however, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somki is even more urgent, and he has urged operators to start before mid-2020 Launch of 5G services:

“Thailand is working hard to become a digital innovation hub for ASEAN, competing with Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, all of which plan to launch commercial 5G services by 2020.”

Responding to this, AIS Communications Advanced Information Services CEO Song Gui (Somchai Lertsutiwong) said that AIS recognizes the government’s goal to pass 5G Innovations such as technology increase the country’s competitiveness. However, he also reiterated that the most appropriate time to adopt 5G in Thailand is the end of 2021. Before that, operators still have to do a lot of preparations.