NBTC eyes four classes of TV, radio broadcast licences

If approved, the proposed licences will be put to a series of public hearings that are expected to take three months.
Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, which drafted the proposal, said the first licence class was for network providers, such as for transmission systems.
The second class is for facility providers such as for signal uplink and downlink stations.
The third is for service providers, such as for radio and TV broadcasts.
The fourth is for application service providers, such as for content.
Under the proposal, broadcasters will also be required to apply for an assignment of frequencies based on their audiences – public, community or business.
Those serving the public would be divided into three types, Natee said.
The first type is education, including religion, art and culture, science and technology, environment, agriculture, and quality of living.
The second is national security.
The third is public service, such as providing information to create good understanding between the government and the people, and providing information for disabled people.
Those providing a commercial service are also divided into three types – national, regional and local. The watchdog will determine the licence fee of the commercial broadcasters later.
The spectrum, telecom and broadcasting master plans have been published in the Royal Gazette, so the watchdog is |moving full steam ahead to regulate the industries.