Thailand to set 3G price ceiling by Dec

Thai regulator NBTC has revealed plans to introduce an interim price ceiling on 3G services by mid-December.

Private players AIS, DTAC and True Move will have to submit their expected real operating costs for providing 3G services by late November, and draft pricing benchmarks and cap will be determined from these figures.

Bangkok Post quotes NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasit as saying the tariff rules will apply to the nation’s three private operators – which each secured 2.1-GHz spectrum in a recent spectrum auction – as well as state-owned TOT and CAT.
The NBTC in October announced a plan to require the three operators to cut prices for 3G services before they are allocated licenses.
Due to a decision to place a cap of 15-MHz per operator on the auction of 45-MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum, the auction ended with a mere 2.8% premium over the combined 13.5 billion baht ($440.7 million) floor price.