Gear for change, NBTC tells industry

The broadcasting committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) officially met with about 300 state agencies yesterday, including Royal Thai Army, MCOT, Public Relations Department and universities, to create understanding on its move to reform the industry and how they have to comply with the 2010 Frequency Allocation Law. 

The law requires state agencies holding radio, TV or telecom frequencies to declare to the NBTC the details of their use of the frequencies and their reasons for holding them. 

NBTC commissioner Colonel Natee Sukonrat, who is chairman of the broadcasting committee, said the NBTC is expected to ask state agencies to officially declare such information in April.

Sura Gaintanasilp, acting president at MCOT, said the company understood that the change might cost business losses because MCOT had to return about one-fourth of its 62 radio spectra for NBTC’s spectrum reallocation.

Meanwhile, as the operator of Modernine TV, MCOT is also focusing on increasing revenue such as raising the number of self-produced shows from 38 per cent now to 51 per cent next year. 

However, Sura added that having such a watchdog, broadcasters would be allowed to do business with fairness and more freedom.

Paitoon Hiranpradith, director of Radio Thailand, said that this was a good start for radio operators so he would await the next process from the NBTC. 

Others in the meeting also wanted NBTC to explain more details about the plan to switch Thailand from analogue to digital broadcasting technology. 

 

Master plans ready  

The NBTC has already finished the draft of the spectrum management master plan and the broadcasting master plan.

The NBTC also revealed to the state agencies yesterday the details of its draft broadcasting master plan, which focuses on seven key points, including permits to use broadcasting spectra, content regulations, consumer protection, industry development, and indices to evaluate the NBTC’s performance in achieving the goals of the plan. The draft also includes a plan to move Thailand from analogue to digital broadcasting technology by next four years.

Natee said that granting licences to cable TV and satellite TV business was also among the priorities for next year. Such a licence would be issued for an initial term of one year by the 

second quarter of next year.

Currently, there are about 500 cable TV businesses and 200 satellite TV operators in the Kingdom, who are expected to receive a broadcast licence from the watchdog.

In a separate event, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) vice president Somkiat Tangkitvanit said yesterday that the NBTC should require all the state spectra holders to return their spectra to it within the same period, instead of different periods, in order to treat all on an equal basis. He was speaking at a seminar on NBTC and its regulations to promote the public benefit, held yesterday by Eisenhower Fellowship Alumni (Thailand). 

The NBTC draft of the spectrum management master plan requires state spectrum holders to return their spectra, which have no concession or rental contracts, to the NBTC within the determined periods – the radio broadcasting spectra within five years, TV broadcasting spectra within 10 years, and telecom spectra within 15 years, for reallocation. The spectra they have granted to private concession holders will be returned to the NBTC once the concession terms expire. 

NBTC commissioner Supinya Klangnarong said at the seminar to Somkiat that the time frame for returning the spectrum could be adjusted, pending the result of the public hearing on the draft spectrum plan. The NBTC is expected to hold a public hearing on the spectrum draft early next year.