Thailand´s long-awaited 3G auction is likely to have a reserve price of at least 4 billion baht ($126.7 million) per 5MHz block, according to officials from regulator NBTC.

 

NBTC vice chairman Settapong Malisuwan told Bangkok Post that the exact reserve price for the 2.1-GHz spectrum will be announced this month, but that it should align with the pricing benchmarks set by the regulator´s predecessor, NTC.

 

NTC - the erstwhile telecom regulator replaced by the unified broadcasting and telecom regulator NBTC – had stipulated a draft reserve price of around 12.8 billion baht for a 15MHz block.

 

The NTC had been planning to auction three 15MHz blocks, before the auction process was derailed  in 2010 by a court decision declaring that the agency had no authority to conduct it. This plan was based on the principle of “n-1”, where n was the number of likely bidders.

 

But its successor has scrapped the n-1 formula in favor of plans to auction off nine 5MHz blocks, with each bidder deciding how many slots they wish to bid for (up to a maximum of 20MHz).

 

The NBTC has yet to finalize the auction model and terms. These terms will then require public consultation, as well as approval from the NBTC board.

 

The regulator had been planning to set the final floor price at the end of May. But despite the delay, Settapong insisted that the process is still on track for an auction in the fourth quarter.