NBTC to auction three types of 5G license and propose methods of fee charging based on usage rate

April 08, 2019

Abstract : Mr. Thakorn Tantasit, secretary-general of the NBTC, said that NBTC predicts that if Thailand engages in spectrum auction and uses 5G technology, as much as 2.3 trillion baht of economic value will be created by 2035.

InfoQuest, (April 03, 2019) -- At the seminar "Growing Thailand into the No. 1 ASEAN country of 5G technology awakening", Mr. Thakorn Tantasit, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), said that NBTC predicts that if Thailand engages in spectrum auction and uses 5G technology, as much as 2.3 trillion baht of economic value will be created by 2035. NBTC plans to auction three types of 2600 MHz and 28 GHz, namely special permit for industry-oriented regions, license covering the whole country, and multi-spectrum auction.

Over the past year, while the investment of other ASEAN countries kept increasing, that of Thailand decreased and that scenario will go from bad to worse if Thailand continues to shun 5G technology, added Mr. Thakorn.

If Thailand embraces 5G, the next challenge it will face is the use increase of data communication services and relevant charging methods. Therefore, NBTC will offer guidance to relevant international internet gateway providers, and ask them to report their netflow charging. Based on that, NBTC will set netflow charging standards for those using infrastructure of Thailand. For users with small usage amount and individual users, NBTC will charge no fees. For users with large usage amount and commercial users, the fees will be charged at a progressive rate. The collected fees will be counted as local revenue, and used for the maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure.

Today, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE), NBTC, and Chulalongkorn University co-hosted the seminar "Growing Thailand into the No. 1 ASEAN country of 5G technology awakening". At the meeting, representatives of government and private sector discussed the preparations on spreading 5G technology in the coming 1-2 years.

Source: InfoQuest, by Kaset / Saowalak / Rachada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road

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