Thai state-owned operator TOT has unexpectedly pulled a contract for a consortium of vendors to begin building its 3G wholesale network, reports the Bangkok Post. The decision came after the country’s Office of the Auditor General launched a transparency investigation into the 3G project’s bidding process, said a director of the state telecom enterprise’s board. The THB16 billion (US$523 million) contract was won earlier this year by a consortium called SL, comprising Samart Corporation, Loxley, Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks. The postponement appears linked to complaints by two of the losing bidders – Ericsson and ZTE – which questioned the tender process. According to reports in January, Ericsson was disqualified for “the absence of catalogues for antenna-related products in its submitted bid,” while ZTE was accused of providing “unrealistic financial calculations.”

It is now unclear when TOT will be able to sign the contract with SL and matters have been complicated by the resignation of another TOT board member yesterday, which the Bangkok Post says could delay the process still further. Five of the 12 TOT board members have quit recently for fear of a possible legal backlash over the state enterprise’s move to demand concession compensation from private operators such as AIS. TOT’s original plan was to build a wholesale 3G network and then rent capacity to mobile operators. This has proved controversial in a market that has repeatedly failed in its attempts to auction 3G spectrum to private operators.