A total of 806.5 million baht was raised from the country's first auction of satellite orbital slot packages on Sunday, which saw SET-listed satellite service operator Thaicom secure two out of five packages and state enterprise National Telecom (NT) obtain one.
The auction started at 10am and wrapped up one hour and 36 minutes later.
Thaicom sent its subsidiary Space Tech Innovation to participate in the bidding. Its two competitors are NT, which was formed through the merger of state telecom enterprises CAT Telecom and TOT in 2021, and Prompt Technical Services, which has engaged in a very-small-aperture terminal business for oil rigs.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) offered five packages for the auction, which marks the country's satellite business transition from a concession system to a licensing regime.
The first package comprises the 50.5° East and 51° E slots with a starting price of 374 million baht. The second is for 78.5° E with a starting price of 360 million baht.
The third covers the 119.5° E and 120° E slots with a starting price of 397 million baht. The fourth is for 126° E with a starting price of 8.6 million baht, while the fifth package covers 142° E with a starting price of 189 million baht. Bid prices increase 5% in each round.
However, no one bid for the first and fifth package.
Space Tech Innovation and Prompt Technical Services competed in the first bidding round for the second package. But Prompt did not bid in the second round, leaving the Thaicom subsidiary the winner at a price of 380 million baht.
The third package was also secured by Space Tech Innovation – the sole bidder – at a price of 417.4 million baht. NT was the sole bidder for the fourth package, obtaaining the licence for 9 million baht.
The results were announced by the NBTC shortly after the bidding was concluded. Its board is due to hold a meeting on Wednesday to issue a resolution to officially approve the auction results.
AM Thanapant Raicharoen, an NBTC commissioner, said the regulator was satisfied with the auction results, athough the winning bid prices were only slightly above the reserve prices.
"The auction marks the successful transition of the satellite business from the concession system to the licensing regime," he said.
The winning bidders are required to pay for a licence in three installments -- 10% within the first 90 days of receiving the NBTC's notification of winning the bid; 40% in the fourth year; and 50% in the sixth year.
The companies are obliged to launch their satellites into their orbital slots within three years of receiving the licence.
According to an auction condition, the winning bidder in the third package is obliged to reserve one transponder per broadcast satellite, or 400 megabits per second capacity per broadband satellite, for state use and public services without charge.
AM Thanapant said in this case, NT, which is a state enterprise, can negotiate with Thaicom to use its satellite capacity in the third package for state benefits.