All four telecom companies that picked up bid documents for two licences on the 1,800-megahertz spectrum have been pre-qualified, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said.
They are Advanced Wireless Network of Advanced Info Service, DTAC TriNet Network of Total Access Communication, True Move H Universal Communi-cation of True Corp and Jas Mobile of Jasmine International.
The minimum starting bid will be Bt15.912 billion per licence, since there are more than two bidders, according to the NBTC's auction rules.
"If the four compete seriously in the bidding, each licence is expected to fetch more than Bt20 billion," an NBTC source said.
The auction will be held on November 11.
The telecom committee is also expected at its Tuesday meeting to finalise the date for auctioning two licences for the 900MHz spectrum. The tentative date is December 15, but the NBTC is expected to move it up to next month.
However, TOT has considered mounting a legal challenge against the NBTC's plan to reclaim this 900MHz spectrum for auction.
TOT granted a 900MHz concession to Advanced Info Service. It expired on September 30. The state enterprise wants to keep the spectrum until 2025.
