NBTC mulls legal panel on frequency law
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The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is considering the establishment of a legal advisory subcommittee to interpret ambiguous clauses in the Frequency Allocation Law.
NBTC member Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn yesterday said interpretation would be the only task of the panel, which would comprise seven members from the legal field.
To telecom industrialists, one of the dubious clauses of the Frequency Allocation Law is Article 46, which concerns mobile virtual network operators. MVNO activity involves the leasing of airtime and the networks of telecom operators to provide services.
Clause
The clause bars holders of telecom licences from allowing others to provide services on their spectra.
The NBTC board is also expected to set up a subcommittee to improve the regulator’s regulations and bring them in line with the present environment of the telecom and broadcasting sectors.
The 11-member NBTC has replaced the National Telecommu-nications Commission (NTC) in overseeing the broadcasting and telecom sectors.
In a related matter, the telecom committee will seek board approval for its plan to ask the Office of the Attorney-General to prosecute 48 cases fiked with the NBTC by other parties.
Most of these cases are currently with the Central Administrative Court.
All of these cases were filed with the now-defunct NTC, and the NBTC took them over upon assuming office.
Earlier, the NTC had the Office of the Attorney-General take care of the cases, but for the past few years it had assigned its own legal department to undertake the task instead.
