Regulator reaffirms stance on 3500MHz band

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) insists it plans to hold an auction for the 3500-megahertz band in 2027 for offering a telecom service.
The regulator said the reallocation of the band for the provision of a telecom service aligns with the standards of the International Telecommunication Union.
The regulator’s plan to auction the range is at odds with the requirements of the Association of Digital Television Broadcasting (ADTEB), which recently urged the NBTC to reconsider its plan to auction the 3500-3800MHz range for the purpose of providing a telecom service.
The association said many satellite TV stations are using the spectrum range at present to air their programmes and noted that 60% of Thais view digital TV programmes via a satellite dish.
ADTEB members also wish to extend their existing licences beyond the current expiry date in 2029 in order to continue in the competitive digital TV field.
Somphop Purivigraipong, the NBTC commissioner responsible for telecom business, said the 3500MHz range is scheduled to be auctioned by the regulator. Other ranges to be auctioned include 850MHz, 1500MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2300MHz, he said.
Some of these bands are being used by private telecom operators under the licensing system and will expire in the near future, while some are now unused and will be reallocated.
The NBTC plans to auction the 850MHz, 2100MHz and 2300MHz bands by the second quarter of next year or prior to their expiry date in 2025. They are now being used by state telecom enterprise National Telecom (NT).
Mr Somphop said the 3500MHz range will be split into two parts. The first part, covering 3300-3700MHz, is slated to be auctioned for the purpose of telecom usage in 2027, with the second part, covering 3700-4200MHz, scheduled to be auctioned in 2029.
The Office of the NBTC is studying the best method to use to auction the 3500MHz range. It is considering migrating viewers who currently use TV receive-only (TVRO) dishes via a C-band spectrum to KU band satellites’ transponders by adjusting the low-noise block downconverter (LNB) and related equipment of the dishes.
An LNB is a device mounted on a satellite dishused to receive satellite TV broadcasts. The device receives radio waves via the dish and converts them into a signal which is sent via a cable to a receiver in the building.
The NBTC’s plan to auction the 3500-MHz range is to promote the use of 5G private network by vertical industries.
Mr Somphop said the migration of digital TV users from the C-band spectrum to the KU-band spectrum would inevitably result in some additional cost for the digital TV users, stemming from the adjustments to the LNB devices, estimated at 1,500 baht per household on average.
He said this cost would likely affect the 6-10 million households who currently watch digital TV programmes via a C-band satellite dish.
The NBTC has supported the operations of terrestrial digital TV network operators to the tune of around 2 billion baht annually.
The 3500MHz band offers the most potential in terms of range when it comes to global 5G adoption for the provision of telecom services, especially in terms of the development of 5G private network, which is being targeted for promoting a real 5G use case ecosystem among industries and enterprises in Thailand.