NBTC pushing ahead on auction of 3G licences for 2.1GHz

The 2.1GHz spectrum is the international standard for third-generation cellular service.
 

NBTC member Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn said yesterday that the watchdog would ensure that the bidding would be conducted with utmost transparency and maximum benefit for the country.
The commission has completed its spectrum-management master plan, which is expected to be put to a public hearing early in the new year. It is also drafting telecom and broadcasting master plans.
 

Next year the NBTC’s telecommunications committee will study the possible impact of the approaching ends of the telecom concessions, the contracts under which private operators provide cellular service.
 

The concessions of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co expire in 2013, of Advanced Info Service in 2015 and of Total Access Communication (DTAC) in 2018. After the concessions end, the spectra have to be returned to the NBTC for reallocation.
 

The telecom committee will focus on drawing up satellite business licensing regulations and preparing the spectra to use new technology. It will study ways to issue the licences to provide converged broadcasting and telecom services. It will review telecom service fees and promote possible network resource sharing among telecom operators.
 

It will also improve the dispute-arbitration process.
 

All of these activities reflect the telecom committee's proactive efforts to push the telecommunications industry forward, Sutipol said.
 

The NBTC plans to review all existing regulations within two years to bring them in line with the present industry environment and to enhance its enforcement powers.
 

Many regulations were enacted under the now-defunct National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which was established more than six years ago.
 

The NBTC will begin with the regulations that have been the target of complaints from telecom operators and consumers as well as those proposed for review by its staff, he said.
 

Suthiphon, who is in charge of the regulations review, said one urgent priority was to amend the NTC’s resolution regarding roaming contracts for international voice and data service between local and foreign telecom operators. The regulation calls for any disputes stemming from these contracts to be settled under Thai law only. The international practice should be applied instead to solve the disputes under these contracts, he said.
 

The NBTC will also rush the drafting of the standard telecom service contract to serve as the basis for contracts between local telecom operators and customers.
 

Regulations governing telecom service contracts were issued by the NTC but they have yet to be enforced because of the lack of a standard format. One key point in the regulations is that telecom operators are prohibited from setting an expiry date for prepaid call services.
 

As part of the regulations review, the NBTC recently held a public hearing with specific groups of people on the regulations preventing foreign dominance in telecom operators. The hearing was prompted by opposition from many parties to the regulations issued by the NTC in August. They claim that the regulations would disrupt foreign investment and might contravene Thailand’s commitments with global trade organisations.
 

The existing administrative structures of the NBTC broadcasting and telecom committees should also be merged within two years to conform with the present era of converged telecom and broadcasting technologies, Sutipol said.