Three companies have submitted bid envelopes to join the auction of satellite orbital slot packages, now rescheduled to take place on Jan 15.
They comprise Space Tech Innovation, a subsidiary of SET-listed satellite service provider Thaicom; Prompt Technical Services, an electrical installation service provider registered in 2000; and telecom state enterprise National Telecom (NT).
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) earlier planned to hold the auction on Jan 8, but it resolved last week to postpone the event until Jan 15, as there will be no meeting of the NBTC board in the first week of January.
The NBTC yesterday scheduled to receive bid envelopes from interested parties and the trio showed up to submit them.
The three are among six firms that came to pick up bid documents last month. The three firms that did not submit the bid envelopes are mu Space and Advanced Technology, Ascend Capital and The Win Telecom. Ascend Capital is a subsidiary of conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group.
Air Marshal Thanapant Raicharoen, an NBTC commissioner, said the qualifications of the three candidates will be scrutinised and the list of qualified bidders will be announced on Jan 9.
Those who failed in the qualification checks can appeal within three working days, he said.
The mock auction will be held a day before the auction date.
The auction offers five slot packages, covering 50.5° East and 51° E with a starting price of 374 million baht; 78.5° E with a starting price of 360 million; 119.5° E and 120° E with a starting price of 397 million; 126° E with a starting price of 8 million; and 142° E with a starting price of 189 million.
The NBTC said the 119.5° E slot is expected to be the most desirable among bidders, followed by 78.5° E.
NT was assigned by the National Space Policy Commission and the National Digital Economy and Society Commission to join the bidding, in line with the satellite development policy.
NT president Col Sanphachai Huvanandana said the company has not yet determined which slots it would bid for or the bidding budget, though 119.5° East and 78.5° E are their favoured slots.
"These slots can be used for broadband C-band business and broadcasting Ku-band business," said Col Sanphachai.
NT's feasibility study will examine the auction's condition that requires the winning bidders to reserve some capacity on their satellites for state use without charge. The company has to decide what can be done for the optimum benefit of NT, he said.
