Thailand’s deputy prime minister urged operators to begin launching 5G services by the middle of 2020 to support the country’s competitiveness in the region and cautioned the government not to focus on generating huge sums from a spectrum auction, Bangkok Post reported.

Somkid Jatusripitak said 5G networks are crucial to supporting the economy and driving innovation.

The newspaper quoted Somkid as saying: “Thailand is battling to become the digital innovation hub of ASEAN, competing with Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, which all plan to launch commercial 5G services in 2020.”

During a visit to the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, he said the 5G auctions must not focus on “exorbitant winning prices”.

In October, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission announced details of 5G spectrum auctions scheduled to begin in February 2020, with licences to be issued across four bands and rollouts to start in March. The regulator said it will auction spectrum first in the 2600MHz and 26GHz bands, and later in the 700MHz and 1800MHz bands.