NBTC urged to finalise plan for cellular sub
Representatives of consumer groups and telecom operators yesterday urged the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to finalise the details soon on how mobile-phone subscribers will be taken care of after the private cellular concessions
They pressed this issue at an NBTC public forum on the topic.
NBTC commissioner Prawit Leesatapornwongsa said it understood the urgency of the issue and had set up the panel to draw up a plan to deal with the approaching expiry of TrueMove’s and Digital Phone Co’s concessions in September next year. The panel is to complete the plan next month.
He added that the NBTC might need to devise an interim solution on the issue but such a measure must not contravene any laws or regulations.
TrueMove executive Supakit Vuntanadit said the NBTC had to tell consumers soon what it planned to do. As things stand, nobody can tell what will happen on the day the concession ends.
The TrueMove and DPC concessions under CAT Telecom will end on September 15, 2013. Currently they serve a total of more than 17 million subscribers. The CAT concession of Total Access Communication (DTAC) will expire on September 15, 2018, and the Advanced Info Service concession under TOT on March 26, 2015.
A CAT representative said the NBTC should allow the state agency to keep the 1,800-megahertz spectrum to continue to serve TrueMove and DPC subscribers for a certain period after the concessions end, instead of handing over the spectrum to NBTC for reallocation.
Earlier NBTC commissioner Suthiphon Taveechaiyagarn said the watchdog had considered allowing CAT to use the 1,800MHz spectrum to serve TrueMove and DPC customers for about five years after the concessions end to prevent service disruption. Currently both companies use bands of that spectrum to provide cellular service.
Under the NBTC master plan, both state telecom agencies have to hand over their spectra for reallocation by the commission after the concessions expire.
A representative of a consumer group expressed concern on the low capacity for mobile-phone number portability, which allows users to transfer their numbers to a new network if they switch providers. The low capacity means it would take a decade for all 17 million TrueMove and DPC customers to switch to other networks.
Five telecom operators jointly set up Clearinghouse Co in 2010 to handle the number-portability service, which currently can transfer 2,500 numbers per day per operator.
