­Thailand's long delayed allocation of 3G licenses could be further delayed following the recent successful auction following claims of collusion between the three bidders, and allegations that the regulator sold the licenses for too low a price.

Te National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said that it might need more time to complete the investigation of possible bid collusion before it can consider going ahead with the formal granting of licences.

The licenses must be formally handed over by next February, otherwise the auction will have to be run again.

The mobile networks deny the allegations, and the auction process was not expected to lead to high bids anyway due to the way it was structured.

The delay comes despite NBTC's five-member telecom committee endorsing the results of the auction which took place late last month.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has also started its own investigation into the 11 members of the NBTC for violations of criminal law.