NBTC may scrap draft master plans and start over
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is leaning towards drawing up its own master plans from scratch rather than basing them on the drafts prepared by its predecessor.
An NBTC source said yesterday that the new regulator appeared to have different ideas from the previous watchdog, the National Telecommunications Commission, on developing the broadcasting and telecom industries.
The NBTC is required by law to complete three master plans for spectrum management, broadcasting and telecom within one year after its inception.
The spectrum master plan is needed to grant new telecom and broadcasting spectrum licences.
On Tuesday, Natee Sukonrat, the NBTC vice chairman in charge of the broadcasting committee, said many details in the broadcasting master plan drafted by the now-defunct NTC had to be improved.
The NBTC might have to compose its own broadcasting master plan, instead of adapting it from the NTC version, he said.
The NBTC is scheduled to meet to prepare the spectrum management plan today.
Recently NBTC chairman Thares Punsri said the NBTC expected to auction the long-awaited licences for third-generation wireless broadband next year.
