Thailand's Central Administrative Court yesterday postponed a decision on whether to accept a petition by Anupap Tiralap telecom scholar, seeking a court order to suspend the national telecoms regulator auction of 2.1 GHz (gigahertz) spectrum slots scheduled for next Tuesday.
The judges will the arguments by Anupap and the national broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) cations made during the hearing yesterday.
Court officials yesterday declined to say when the judges their decision would make. The judges will be two business or to accept the case, and whether to issue a warrant that Anupap the plea.
The Court called an urgent treatment with Anupap yesterday.
Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn NBTC Commissioners and Prasert Silphiphat also came to explain the case to the Court yesterday.
Suthiphon said he told the Court that according to an estimate by the National Institute of development administration (NIDA), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the cancellation of the 2.1 GHz spectrum auction two years ago, an economic loss of 153.9 billion baht (US $ 5 billion) caused or 210 million baht per day, over the past two years. If this NBTC spectrum auction has slowed and the preparation process whole auction must be restarted, which will take about eight months, said that the economic loss would amount to 51.3 billion baht during these eight months, he.
The NTC-the NBTC predecessor-was planned for the 2.1 GHz auction in September 2010, but it was suspended by the administrative court warrant in the same month after a petition of CAT Telecom, which challenged the NTC licensing authority.
Suthiphon claimed yesterday that he had proof that certain unnamed parties had a well-planned plot to sabotage the NBTC spectrum auction.
NBTC Secretary-General Takorn Tantasit said that if the Court accepts the case for hearing, but only a warrant issuing, the NBTC ahead to the spectrum auction on October 16 as planned. The NBTC will not cancel the auction, unless the Court gives a command, he added.
Anupap wants to suspend the auction the NBTC, pending the full issuance of important measures to achieve optimum benefits to the population, including the establishment of a maximum 3 G-service fee. He said that the watchdog should also make it mandatory for spectrum winners fully roll out nationwide networks to cover the whole population, without a big time lapse between roll-out phases and regardless of the different areas income and service demand.
The three bidders have already sent the NBTC yesterday name lists of representatives to participate in the bid. Advanced Wireless network of Advanced Info Service and the real future of true Corp. each will send 10 representatives to the bid, while total access communications (DTAC) DTAC network, sends seven representatives, said Takorn. He refused to disclose their names.
The NBTC will call for bids on 16 October for nine slots of the 2.1 GHz spectrum, each with 5 megahertz bandwidth, to a reserve price of 4.5 billion baht per piece. Each of the bidders can go for a maximum of three slots. The cost of holding the auction 5 million baht.
The NBTC acknowledged this week that the watchdog concerned about possible lawsuits and scrutiny in the post auction era was. The auction terms and conditions have criticism for allowing the three bidders to grab spectrum slots in what many expect a low competition auction be drawn.
The bidding will take place at the headquarters of the NBTC on Politician road. The watchdog will hold a mock up auction tomorrow.
Yesterday, it took the press Tour the rooms where the bidders will sit for the offer. The NBTC has three rooms for each of the bidders and a backup room. Computers are installed in the rooms for placing bids and they are connected to the system of auction-server only, without internet access.
The USB port slots on the computers will also be closed before the auction day for security reasons.
The NBTC has also prepared an auditorium in a different building from where the press can observe the offer. But they will be able to see only the quoted prices and which slots spectrum have provisional winners, but the provisional winners identities are not disclosed.
The NBTC will step up security during the auction by about 50 police officers on her seat.
The police officers and the NBTC staff will also be implemented to the waiting rooms on the door of bidders during the auction. The watchdog has also asked for the police to patrol the area around its head office the night before the day of the auction.
* US $ 1 = 30.6 baht
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