5G Frequency Spectrum in Thailand

The 700 MHz, 2600 MHz and 26 GHz bands have been allocated for 5G in Thailand. On 16th February, 2020, The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) held an auction for spectrum in the 700 MHz, 2600 MHz and 26 GHz (n258) frequency bands for the deployment of 5G services in the country.

Five bidders participated in this auction: True Move H Universal Communications (TUC), TOT Public, DTAC TriNet (DTN), CAT Telecom and Advanced Wireless Network (AWN).

The state-run firms CAT & TOT (which are to be merged to become National Telecom Company, NT) participated in the auction for the first time to win six licenses. Thailand’s leading operator, AWN won 23 licenses and TUC, the country’s second largest telecom operator, won 17 licenses for 5G. DTAC also got two licenses to run 5G services in Thailand.

The spectrum distribution was as follows: 

In 700 MHz band, there were a total of 3 licenses out of which CAT won 2 licenses for 2x5 MHz spectrum, while AIS got 1 license to beat TUC. The 2600 MHz band was split between AIS (won 10 licenses) and TUC (won 9 licenses).

In the 26 GHz band, 12 licenses were won by AWN and 8 licenses by TUC. TOI got 4 licenses and DTAC got 2 licenses.