The five remaining MVNOs in Thailand are either already defunct or on the precipice of extinction, exposing a decade-long pattern of regulatory inaction and a clear disregard for fair competition that has directly stifled innovation and crushed local and foreign businesses who invested in the Thai market.

It’s particularly striking considering that more than 65+ MVNO licenses have been issued by the NBTC, and a large amount of the candidates interested in launching MVNO services in Thailand are both local and international enterprises from various verticals, retailers, FinTech’s, OTTs, existing MVNOs in other nearby countries, and even mobile network operators considering launching sub-brands as MVNOs in Thailand.

This high level of interest and the sheer number of licenses issued stand in stark contrast to the sector’s ultimate collapse.

For more than a decade, the NBTC has stood by, as a silent spectator (at best), as dominant mobile network operators (MNOs) systematically flouted regulations designed to foster a competitive telecommunications landscape.

The most glaring and continuously ignored regulation is the mandate, in place since the first license to MNOs in 2013, requiring MNOs to allocate at least 10% of their network capacity to MVNAs/MVNOs.

This crucial condition, intended to provide access for MVNO seeking to lease access to infrastructure, has been rendered utterly meaningless by the NBTC’s utter failure to enforce it.

Sunday’s auction of National Telecom’s (NT) spectrum serves as a stark illustration of the NBTC’s responsibility. With NT’s capacity drastically reduced to a meager 5MHz bandwidth on 700MHz, the MVNOs previously reliant on its network are now left with no viable host.

This effectively herded them towards the very MNOs – AIS and the merged TRUE/DTAC – that have historically proven unwilling, and unchecked by the NBTC, to provide the mandated wholesale access.

It’s a cruel irony that the 10% capacity allocation for MVNOs was once again meticulously listed among the general licensing conditions for this latest auction, a cynical nod to a requirement the NBTC has consistently, and without consequence, failed to uphold.

This makes a mockery of regulatory promises and demonstrates a deep-seated institutional indifference to market diversity.

The writing was on the wall for Thailand’s MVNOs, a testament to the NBTC’s predictable inaction. Loxley (iKool) and Whitespace (Penguin SIM) pre-emptively announced their closures even before the recent auction, foreseeing the inevitable. Loxley was among the first five to get a MVNO license in Thailand and launched in 2009.

Feels Telecom has similarly declared the end of its service, urging customers to port their numbers. Redone, a Malaysian MVNO, now presents a website “Under Construction,” a thinly veiled euphemism for its so far fruitless almost year-long “talks” with TRUE to gain access.

These closures are not merely business failures; they represent squandered local and foreign investments, lost jobs, and a chilling message about the true nature of the Thai telecommunications market.

Indeed, the public statements on the MVNOs’ own websites paint a clear picture of their demise:

Feels Telecom explicitly states: “Feels Telecom will terminate its mobile phone service because the contract for using the 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz frequencies of the National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT) will end in August 2025. Customers who use Feels Telecom services should switch carriers by July 20, 2025 to maintain the right to use their number.”

Infinite SIM: “Bangkok Telling Co., Ltd. would like to inform you that Infinite SIM service will end its service on the National Telecom (NT) network on July 31, 2025, which will affect your mobile phone service. The company recommends customers who wish to use the same number to request a porting code (MNP) to another service provider”

Penguin SIM similarly announces: “Dear valued customers, please be informed that due to the expiration of the frequency usage license in the 850 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands from National Telecom (NT), the company will cease providing services.”

i-Kool’s message confirms: “Due to the expiration of the frequency usage license in the 850 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands from National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT), which will expire in August 2568 (2025), i-Kool has to terminate its mobile services on June 30, 2025.”

While Redone does not have a direct notification on its main website, its “under construction” status and its latest Facebook post from May (at the time of writing this) says “The company will temporarily suspend communication services through all Customer Service channels.” – strongly suggest a similar fate.

The NBTC’s consistent failure to act has not just hindered the MVNO sector; it has actively cultivated a duopoly, creating an environment where the dominant players face no incentive to compete on price or innovation.

The “fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory” language of NBTC notifications regarding MVNOs has been nothing but hollow words. While the NBTC has, in the past, acknowledged the struggles of MVNOs and even commissioned studies, these actions have consistently failed to translate into tangible enforcement or a genuine commitment to a competitive market once (if ever) they arrived in front of the NBTC Board.

A significant obstacle to the growth and dynamism of the Thai telecommunications sector, particularly for MVNOs, has been the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) board’s prolonged inaction on crucial regulatory updates.

Public reports shows clearly that the agenda item concerning the promotion of MVNOs and the modernization of their regulatory framework has been postponed to the “next meeting” over thirty times without a definitive decision being reached at the NBTC board.

Dr. Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, the NBTC Chairman himself has repeatedly issued pronouncements about the “urgent” need for policies to promote MVNOs and foster market diversity.

The Chairman was also speaking at the MVNOs World Congress 2024 in Brussels, Belgium where he said that Thailand is welcoming – and are ready in terms of telecom, regulation and digital infrastructure to support business operations for all forms of MVNOs to do business in Thailand – words that have proven entirely hollow

Adding to this frustration, MVNOs and Mobile Virtual Network Aggregators (MVNAs) have actively participated in numerous hearings, focus groups, and discussions convened by the NBTC over the years.

Despite their consistent engagement, providing vital industry insights, proposals, and highlighting the challenges they face, nothing concrete has materialized from these consultations.

This includes concerns about securing fair wholesale access to the networks of dominant mobile operators like AIS and True, as well as the terms and pricing of such access.

The MVNO crisis is a direct consequence of the NBTC’s chronic regulatory impotence. By issuing licenses without ensuring the fundamental access required to operate, by allowing dominant operators to ignore critical license conditions for years, and by offering empty promises in new auction terms, the NBTC has single-handedly dismantled a sector that could have offered greater choice, affordable prices, and innovative services to Thai consumers and enterprises.

The losers in this are not just the defunct MVNOs, but the Thai public, who will now face an even more concentrated and less competitive mobile market, a direct result of NBTC’s neglect.

The only way to solve this is if the NBTC can finally get their finger out of the rotary dial and start doing what they are paid for by the public. It is time they fulfill their mandate, and enforce the regulations, no more discussing. 16 years of talk must be enough.

Update 04-07-2025 – Supinya Klangnarong, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Telecommunications, and Information Technology of the Consumer Council in Thailand, is calling on the NBTC to stop rushing to approve the spectrum auction resolution, while there are still lingering questions such as whether MVNOs will disappear.

It’s going to be a significant challenge for Thailand to secure OECD membership, with a regulator like the NBTC failing to live up to OECD’s essential guidelines on good regulatory practice. The alarming collapse of the MVNO sector, directly attributable to the NBTC’s regulatory inaction and the recent spectrum auction that sealed the fate of these operators, serves as a glaring example of these systemic failures.

Thailand is actively pursuing membership in the OECD, with the accession process officially launched in October 2024. This involves a rigorous and in-depth evaluation by 26 technical committees of Thailand’s alignment with OECD standards, policies, and practices across various public policy areas, including governance, integrity, and regulatory frameworks. The OECD’s focus on competitive markets and effective regulation means the NBTC’s track record will be under intense scrutiny.

For Thailand to fully align with OECD guidelines on good regulatory practice, especially in the telecommunications sector, the NBTC would need to demonstrate a consistent adherence to principles like:

• Regulatory Independence and Accountability: Regulators should operate with sufficient independence from political influence while remaining accountable for their actions and outcomes. The NBTC’s prolonged deferment of MVNO-related agenda items and its failure to enforce existing regulations raise serious questions about its independence from dominant industry players and its accountability to the public good.
• Transparency and Predictability: Clear, consistent, and predictable regulatory frameworks are crucial for attracting investment and fostering competition. The continuous issuance of MVNO licenses without ensuring a transparent and predictable path to wholesale access has created an unpredictable and hostile environment for new entrants.
• Evidence-Based Decision-Making: Regulatory decisions should be grounded in sound analysis of costs, benefits, and risks, including thorough Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs). The recent spectrum auction, which effectively eliminated MVNO hosts, appears to lack a sound assessment of its impact on market competition and consumer welfare.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Effective consultation with businesses, consumers, and other relevant parties throughout the regulatory lifecycle is essential. While the NBTC has held numerous consultations with MVNOs, the consistent failure to act on their feedback demonstrates a lack of genuine engagement and a disregard for their insights.
• Ex-post Evaluation: Regularly assessing whether regulations are achieving their intended goals and making necessary adjustments is a key aspect of good regulatory practice. The NBTC’s failure to evaluate and correct the dysfunctional MVNO market for over a decade points to a critical deficiency in ex-post evaluation.

The OECD’s accession process serves as a catalyst for reform, and the technical reviews will specifically identify areas where Thailand’s legislation, policies, and practices, including those of the NBTC, need to be brought further into line with OECD standards. The demise of the MVNO sector stands as a stark warning sign, illustrating the profound regulatory deficiencies that Thailand must urgently address if it hopes to achieve its goal of OECD membership.