Thailand 5G bid

So Thailand becomes the first country in SE Asia to formally go ahead with bids for 5G .

Key features of Thailand 5G bid  :

a.) 48 bands across 700 Mhz, 2.6 Ghz and 26 GHz . (Interestingly, NBTC wanted to auction 1.8 GHz but there was no interest from the telcos)

b.) Overall the auction led to over 100 Bn Baht ( ~3.15 Bn USD ) for the regulators over 7-10 years amortization (depending on bands ).

c.) AIS secured 23 bands overall and seemed the most aggressive

d.) The 700 MHz as expected was the most closely fought over ( and needless to say the most expensive ). AIS now has 2×15 Mhz on the 700 spectrum band giving it a great advantage

e.) The commercial operations are expected to start as early as 2021 3rd quarter .

Interestingly, the auction lasted only 5 hours compared to the ( ultra- long) 33 hour marathon contest for 4G bids which many of us may remember , so it seems the operators had their scenarios clearly cut out ( Hopefully !! ) . This will act as an initial baseline for other ASEAN regulators as well as operators ( normalization based on their own ARPUs/ GDP per capita and other local market factors etc. ).

Hopefully there is no irrational exuberance like we saw in some countries during the 4G spectrum bids.