Amended USO regulations would carry lower fund contributions

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will also propose collecting this contribution from all three types of licence holders; it presently only collects it from Type 2 and Type 3 licence holders.
As part of its draft of the 2012-2016 USO regulation plan, all holders of business licences in the sector will be required to make this contribution if combined revenue from all of their licences exceeds Bt20 million.
NBTC commissioner General Sukit Khamasundara, who is in charge of drafting the new USO regulations, said the agency is expected to hold a public hearing on the draft next month. The board has already approved the draft.
The NBTC will use the USO fund to hire firms to develop and offer services in target areas as part of its universal service access policy. The draft plan aims to have voice services delivered to 99 per cent of populated areas and broadband network coverage expanded to at least 80 per cent of populated areas, both within the next five years. The achieve these goals, it is
 estimated that a fund of Bt22 billion will be needed. As of last year, the fund still had Bt2.9 billion left.
The now defunct National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued the existing USO regulations in August 2005. The regulations require only holders of Type 2 and Type 3 licences to promote telecom services in remote areas.
Those who decline to do so are required to contribute 4 per cent of their annual revenue to the fund, to allow the NTC to hire other firms to promote telecom services in remote areas.
Holders of Type 1 licences do not have their own networks. Holders of Type 2 licences may or may not have their own networks and compete for limited groups of customers. Holders of Type 3 licences have their own networks and their competition has a wide-scale impact on the public.
The new USO regulations would create equality among licence holders, Sukit said, adding that the regulations should not put a burden on any particular types of licence holders.
According to the NBTC office’s survey last year, 94 per cent of the population could access voice services, while the broadband Internet network covered over 8.246 million households, or 39 per cent of the total.
Sukit added that the NBTC has a plan to launch a number of USO pilot projects in two provinces early next month.