NBTC's 2 sectors may face spectrum clash
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The planned licensing of digital TV channels might hit a snag, as the telecom committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has considered using part of the digital broadcasting spectrum for broadband cellular service.
The telecom committee will convene today to acknowledge its plan to allocate the spectrum range of 698 to 806 megahertz for the future provision of broadband cellular service. But that range overlaps with the 510-790MHz range the broadcasting committee plans to license for digital television.
The telecom committee will advise the broadcasting committee to use the 470-694MHz range for digital TV instead. It will propose this to NBTC board chairman Thares Punsri, and it will be up to him whether or not to table the plan for the board’s consideration, said telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan.
Settapong said he had no intention to block the upcoming awarding of digital TV licences by the broadcasting committee. The plan to use the 698-806MHz range for future telecom service is in line with the international standard. His panel also said that using 698-806MHz to provide telecom service would bring greater economic benefit to Thailand than using it for broadcast.
Settapong informally told broadcasting committee chairman Natee Sukonrat of this plan.
Settapong said the decision lay with the broadcasting committee on whether it will agree with the telecom committee’s plan.
Natee said his committee would not change the spectrum for digital broadcast and had prepared for all possible problems since drawing up the plan to develop digital TV service in Thailand.
A broadcasting committee source said that if the panel agreed with the telecom committee’s plan, it would have to take time to revise many regulations covering digital TV broadcasting.
On another matter, an NBTC source said Malaysia had asked the Thai regulator to coordinate with it on possible spectrum jams at the Thailand-Malaysia border if the NBTC uses the 700MHz spectrum to broadcast digital TV channels, as Malaysia uses the same spectrum for broadband cellular service.
