Licensing of Spectrum for Mobile Service in the Frequency Band of 900 MHz in Thailand

In Thailand, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has established a policy on spectrum management and use of spectrum which are national communications resources, considering the utmost public benefits at national and local levels in education, culture, State security and other public interests including fair and free competition, as well as the procedures that will ensure thorough and appropriate distribution of benefits to various services and in line with State policy for the development of digital economy. On December 15, 2015, the NBTC conducted the spectrum auction to grant 900 MHz spectrum licenses by way of auction according to the licensing criteria and procedures prescribed in the NBTC’s Notification regarding Criteria and Procedure for Spectrum Licensing for Telecommunications Service in the Frequency Band of 895 ? 915 MHz/940 ? 960 MHz. The objective of this paper is to review the licensing criteria and procedures for the 900 MHz Spectrum Licensing. The spectrum auction procedures are described and also the result of the auction is discussed in this paper. The paper also explains the positive impacts of spectrum licensing on national economy through the further expansion of 3G and 4G networks in Thailand.