Radio/TV licence fees up for debate

Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s broadcasting committee, said yesterday that the proposed tariff would be put to a public hearing after the NBTC’s approval.
The annual fee for all broadcasters will be a flat 2 per cent of gross revenue. This already includes the fee for spectrum use, he said.
Thawatchai Jittrapanun, another member of the broadcasting committee, said the committee is calculating the reference price for awarding broadcasting frequencies. It might not be as high as many worried parties have predicted, he said.
The broadcasting committee expects to be ready by October to grant cable, satellite and pay TV licences as well as digital TV licences for public use. Digital TV licences for commercial use would follow early next year.
The three proposed terrestrial digital TV regulations for switching from analogue to digital, controlling set-top boxes and setting technical standards will all undergo hearings soon.
The three classes of broadcasting licences were also published in the Royal Gazette for facility providers, service providers and network providers. All three classes can provide services ranging from digital to cable and satellite TV.
The committee is also drafting a plan to allocate TV channels, including public and commercial digital TV channels. It has hired the International Telecommunication Union to evaluate radio and TV frequencies before the regulator grants broadcasting licences.