NT pays first instalment of 700MHz licence fee

National Telecom (NT) on Tuesday paid for the first instalment of the 700-megahertz spectrum licence fee, ending speculation that the merged unit of CAT Telecom and TOT may ditch the frequency over concerns about the viability of the 5G business plan.

In last year’s 5G spectrum auction, CAT Telecom surprised the telecom industry as it won two slots on the 700MHz range at a total cost of 34.3 billion baht, while Advanced Wireless Network (AWN), a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service (AIS), secured another slot on the frequency for 17.1 billion baht.

For the 700MHz licence, the winning bidders are obliged to pay the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in 10 instalments for the licence fees.

The first instalment must be paid at least 15 days before the 700MHz range is made available for usage on April 1.

Viroj Tocharoenvanith, senior executive vice-president in charge of the wireless segment at NT, on Tuesday led the company’s executives to make the first instalment payment of 3.6 billion baht, including VAT, as well as a bank guarantee worth 33 billion baht covering the remaining payment.

“The company is gearing up for the 5G market expansion to cater to the rising demand in the future,” said Mr Viroj.

He added the company is looking to work with domestic and foreign partners for 5G network sharing to reduce investment costs.

Early this month, a source close to the NT board told the Bangkok Post the company was weighing whether to abandon the 700MHz range by forgoing the licence fee payment as the firm is concerned about the viability of running the 5G business.

On Tuesday, AWN also paid 1.83 billion baht for the first instalment of the 700MHz range fee, including VAT, to the NBTC.

AIS chief executive Somchai Lertsutiwong said the company now has a total of 1420MHz of bandwidth on various frequencies which can be used for 3G, 4G and 5G services, excluding other frequency ranges, through partnership deals.