Thai telcos Advanced Info Service (AIS) and True Corp purchased spectrum bands in the 1500-MHz, 2100-MHz, and 2300-MHz bands for over THB41 billion (US$1.26 billion) in an auction by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Sunday.
AIS subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) bought all three blocks of the 2100-MHz band for THB14 billion, at THB4.9 billion per block, which is around 10% above the reserve price of THB4.5 billion per block.
Meanwhile, True subsidiary True Move H Universal Communication (TUC) bid THB21.7 billion for the seven 2300-MHz spectrum blocks and THB4.65 billion for four out of 11 available 1500-MHz spectrum blocks, for a total of THB26.4 billion. Its winning bids for the 2300-MHz and 1500-MHz blocks were respectively 19.7% and 10% higher than the reserve price.
AWN and TUC were the only two qualified bidders in the auction.
Two blocks of spectrum in the 850-MHz band were also up for grabs in Sunday’s auction, but were left unsold with no bids.
The 2100-MHz and 2300-MHz bands are already used for mobile services in Thailand, while the 1500-MHz band is not.
In a statement, True Corp Group CEO Sigve Brekke said the additional spectrum will help the telco boost overall network capacity for 4G and 5G services and improve download coverage, as well as strengthen True’s long-term competitiveness.
True said it will utilise carrier aggregation technology to combine its new 1500 MHz spectrum with other bands to “enable faster internet speeds, more stable connectivity, and reduced network congestion during peak usage periods.”
According to the official NBTC timetable, the auction results are expected to be certified on July 6, while the licences for each band will be activated on August 4.
