Post-concession plan 'illegal'

Thammasat University law lecturer Piyabut Saengkanokkul said the NBTC risks being sued by all groups concerned if it implements this measure, as there is no law to support such a move. He was speaking at a seminar on the legal problems surrounding the end of the DPC-TrueMove 1,800-megahertz concessions, organised by the university’s Law Faculty.

“You can’t issue any measures that are against the law,” he said.

Another Thammasat law lecturer, Kittisak Prokati, said a way out of the problem would be for the NBTC to hurry up and auction off the 1,800MHz spectrum, because the 2010 Frequency Allocation Law obliges the NBTC to reallocate the spectrum via auction only.

Law lecturer Worajet Pakirat did not attend the seminar but sent in his opinion that the NBTC’s imposition of a one-year transition period was tantamount to extending the concession contract period. The commission should transfer all subscribers of both operators to another operator within two months, Vorajet said.

The NBTC’s telecom committee will conclude next month which party it will appoint to take care of the subscribers for one year as part of a draft plan to remedy these customers’ situation after the concessions end. The watchdog held a public hearing on the draft last week.

Prasert Apipunya, a member of the so-called “super board”, said it is also worried that the draft appears to be against the law. The board was established by the Senate to evaluate the NBTC’s performance.