Thailand's telecoms regulator extended an auction of two 4G licences on Wednesday after fierce competition from four operators, which had drawn nearly 60 billion baht ($1.7 bln) after 15 hours of bidding.
Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS), True Corp , Total Access Communication and Jasmine International vied to win the licences for bandwidth on the 1800 MHz frequency.
After 15 hours of bidding, 28.65 billion baht had been bid on the first licence and 30.24 billion baht on the second, more than doubling the estimated value of the bandwidth, according to data from the regulator.
This compared with a base price of 15.91 billion baht per licence.
Shares in Thai telecom firms fell on concerns that the licences may be overpriced.
The companies are in a quiet period, meaning they cannot comment publicly on the auction.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) initially planned to close the auction at 9 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), but decided to give a half-hour hour break before resuming bidding until they have winners, NBTC Vice Chairman Settapong Malisuwan told a news conference.
Analysts had expected AIS, Thailand's largest mobile operator, and third-ranked True Corp to win the licences.
AIS, 23 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd , is the only major Thai operator that does not offer a 4G service. Analysts expect a licence will help AIS increase its revenue from mobile data.
True Corp, 18 percent owned by China Mobile and controlled by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont's Charoen Pokphand Group, needs a licence to maintain its leading position in 4G services, analysts said.
The regulator plans to hold another auction for two 4G licences of 900 MHz frequency on Dec. 15. ($1 = 35.8400 baht)