Govt urged to amend flaws found in law

The Office of the Auditor-General has recommended to the prime minister that the government amend flaws it has uncovered in the Frequency Allocation Law of 2010 to protect the national interest. It is especially concerned about the clause related to how the watchdog spends the fees it collects.
The law gave birth to the upcoming National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.
The office said the NBTC would oversee industries worth many hundreds of billions of baht, so it must be ensured that the watchdog will be neutral and honest, giving top priority to the national interest.
The office said Article 42 of the law allowed the NBTC to funnel money gained from auctioning radio and television broadcasting spectra into a fund for developing industries for public benefit, rather than into state coffers. This fund could amount to as much as Bt1 trillion. It said the law should be amended to require the NBTC to pass these proceeds to the state to ensure the country’s maximum benefit.
It also recommended that the law specify the proportion of regulatory fees the NBTC has to pass to the state. Currently the law says the commission must pass on whatever is left of these fees after its administration costs are covered.
The office said Articles 6 and 7 of the law just stated the qualifications of the commissioners in broad terms, without specifics in terms of ethics, neutrality and honesty. The law should also be amended to prevent the committee charged with selecting commissioners from using its own broad judgement.
It also pointed out that Articles 9 to 13 require organisations in relevant industries to nominate NBTC candidates, which contradicts the principle of preventing those with special interests from having a part in regulating their own industries.
It added that Article 14 determining the make-up of the committee selecting NBTC contenders in one of the two lists of candidates, the so-called second list, was unconstitutional. For example, the law requires the chairman of the Human Rights Commission to be the selection chairman, which is against the Constitution.
In addition, the law does not determine the qualifications of the selection committee members, and should be amended accordingly.
It also recommended a change to Article 46, which obliges licence holders to operate spectra on their own, instead of allowing other parties to do so on their behalf. This does not allow flexibility for operating the telecommunications business, which has many business models, including using other parties’ networks to provide services.