CAT, TOT need to return spectra: NBTC panel

But Information and Communi-cations Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap said yesterday that there was a legal channel for state agencies CAT Telecom and TOT to keep their spectra for a certain period to serve the policy of promoting equal access to telecom service before the NBTC recalls them for reallocation.
Anudith said the NBTC and the ministry would have to talk to find a solution. CAT will also consult the Council of State to seek a clear legal answer on the issue.
The NBTC’s telecom committee has yet to approve the findings of its legal subcommittee formally, because of the absence of two members at its meeting yesterday.
Another subcommittee is preparing for the expiry of the concessions of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co (DPC). CAT owns their concessions and has granted each of those firms 12.5 megahertz bandwidth of the 1,800MHz spectrum to provide cellular service.
An NBTC source said the telecom committee might allow CAT to continue using the 1,800MHz spectrum for another two or three years after the two concessions end, during which their customers would migrate to other cellular networks.
Initially the telecom committee thought this transition period should be five years but later changed its mind, as the watchdog wants to auction the 1,800MHz spectrum blocks in the near future for provision of fourth-generation broadband cellular service.
NBTC telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan said the plan to deal with the TrueMove and DPC concession expirations would be complete by December, well before their concessions end in September next year. TrueMove has about 17 million customers and DPC 80,000.
Settapong added that the NBTC telecom committee had set up a subcommittee to draw up a five-year road map for spectrum management, which will detail a list of spectra with concessions whose ends are approaching and how the watchdog will manage this.
The concession of Advanced Info Service under TOT will end in late 2015, while that of Total Access Communication (DTAC) under CAT will expire in 2018.
In a related matter, True Corp chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont said yesterday that True was keen to bid for a block of the 1,800MHz spectrum. He added that True was financially ready to bid for slots in the 2.1-gigahertz spectrum but declined to elaborate.
On Tuesday, DTAC said it expected to spend Bt15 billion to Bt20 billion on the bidding for the 2.1GHz spectrum slots.
The NBTC will call the bid for nine slots of the 2.1GHz spectrum on October 16, each containing 5MHz bandwidth. The three applicants to bid for the spectrum are Advanced Wireless Network of AIS, DTAC Network of DTAC, and True’s Real Future. Each participant in the auction can bid for a maximum of three slots.
Suphachai said CAT and True had completed their joint revision of their partnership contracts on 3G-850MHz service, in line with the NBTC’s order. The commission had ordered them to make the contracts comply with the 2010 Frequency Allocation Law. The law forbids NBTC licence holders TOT and CAT from allowing a third party to have management control of their spectra.
The NBTC had set October 5 as the deadline for the amendment.