NBTC urged to regulate leasing rates, transmission quality before auction

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has been urged to regulate reasonable network leasing prices and quality of transmission in digital terrestrial TV broadcasting service before the country’s first spectrum auction for 24 commercial TV channels, the forum was told.

Yesterday, the NBTC held a public hearing on a draft auction rule to select 24 commercial digital terrestrial TV channels. More than 100 content providers and TV broadcasters brainstormed and shared their ideas to complete the draft. 

NBC president Adisak Limprungpatanakij said that NBTC should regulate the price and quality of the network providing services to ensure a fair playing field before the application process begins. 

Adisak suggested that the digital TV network managed by the Public Relation Department (PRD) should be used for digital terrestrial TV broadcasting for public services. Meanwhile, other network providers should provide their service for commercial TV broadcasters and community-based TV channels. 

Premon Pinskul, chief financial officer at GMM Grammy, suggested that the NBTC should clarify the difference in network leasing rates and quality of signal transmission offered by each network provider. 

Premon also pointed out that the NBTC should put more specific details about upgrading to high-definition service after the auction of TV categories in standard-definition service finished. 

“This information is very important for all bidders before selecting the right TV categories and making a decision to join the spectrum auction,” he added. 

Chokchai Punjarungroj, deputy chief executive officer of Amarin Printing and Publishing, said that the definition of each TV category was not clear enough. This might cause confusion among auction bidders. RS chief operating officer Pornpan Techarungchaikul said the NBTC should inform all qualified bidders one month in advance about the exact network leasing rate and the quality of broadcasting service from each network provider, two weeks in advance of the spectrum auction. 

Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said that after granting four licences to digital TV network providers, the Army, MCOT, the Public Relations Department (PRD) and Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) will propose their network roll-out and investment plans to the broadcasting regulator to determine how much their network leasing rates should be. 

Natee added that those rates would be set independently by each network provider but the rate must reflect their investment cost, which is described as “cost-base regulation”. 

After completing the public hearings and revising the draft auction rule, the NBTC expects to publish this regulation in the Royal Gazatte by next month. 

The draft auction rule, also called “forward auction”, is to select the 24 commercial digital terrestrial TV channels. Under this process, bidders must raise their price in each round. For a children’s programming licence, participants must raise their bid by Bt1 million per round; Bt2 million per round for news programming; Bt5 million per round for variety channels; and Bt10 million per round for an HD variety-channel licence. 

The amounts are about 1 per cent of the reserve price of each licence.

The reserve starting price is set at Bt1.51 billion for each of the seven HD variety channels; Bt380 million for each of the seven SD variety channels; Bt220 million for each of the seven SD news programmes and Bt140 million for each of the children’s channels.

Additionally, on Monday afternoon, the NBTC will organise a pre-mock auction for commercial digital TV channels at the NBTC office. All related parties and members of the press will be invited.