BANGKOK, THAILAND: Thailand's auction of third-generation mobile phone licences could be delayed at least one month from February 2010, a regulatory official said on Thursday, as more time was needed to consult on legal issues.

Settaporn Kusripitak, one of the members of the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), told reporters the selection of four new NTC members after recent resignations was another problem.

Licensing is seen as a key step in reforming the sector because companies will pay licence fees instead of paying a portion of their revenue to state-owned firms for the right to operate networks they built and paid for themselves, as they do now.