Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has denied that the country’s 5G roadmap would be affected by any issues with its upcoming 1800MHz spectrum auctions.
The NBTC’s secretary general Takorn Tantasith claimed that 5G development remained at the core of the government’s agenda as it pushed to launch such services by 2020.
"The failure of the auction should not affect 5G development in the country," Takorn was quoted as saying in The Bangkok Post. "The government targets usable 5G in some areas of the country by 2020 because of outlays by telecom operators.”
Scheduled auctions for both 850MHz and 1800MHz spectrum have been postponed multiple times, with the latest delay attributed to the NBTC currently having an interim board. The delays could spell trouble for operator dtac, as it will be unable to offer services if its concession to use state operator CAT’s spectrum expires. This is currently due for September.
Jarit Sidhu, of research firm IDC Thailand, also told the Post: "The cancelled auction does not affect 5G development, because there is no standard yet for bandwidth to be allocated for the 5G network. The bandwidth for 5G is higher than the 1800MHz band.”
Takorn noted that he expected the government to ensure the smooth passage of the August auction by extending the licence payment terms for the two winners of 2015’s 900MHz auctions, AIS and True Move.
