Thaicom need not seek new licences for future satellites: NBTC legal unit
The legal unit of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has suggested that Thaicom does not need new business licences for its future satellites - they should be able to operate under the existing licence for the company's planned Th
The NBTC granted a satellite licence for Thaicom 7 last year.
The satellite is expected to be launched by mid-next year into the 120 degrees east longitude orbital slot.
Thaneerat Siripachana, chairman of the NBTC’s subcommittee on satellites, said the legal unit had taken the view that Thaicom could launch as many new satellites it wanted under the Thaicom 7 licence. However, the subcommittee has mixed opinions on the issue. Some members say Thaicom should apply for a new licence for each new satellite.
All members of the subcommittee have been asked to make their opinions known formally, and the sub-panel will come to a conclusion on the issue before submitting it for the NBTC telecom committee’s consideration.
Thaneerat said he personally agreed with the legal unit’s opinion that the existing licence was sufficient.
He added that his subcommittee would amend the draft satellite regulation to specify that an operator could use an existing licence for all upcoming satellites. A satellite signal uplink-downlink operator will also be required to acquire the uplink-downlink spectrum via the auction.
Thaicom recently asked the NBTC telecom committee to consider whether its future Thaicom 8 broadcasting satellite could operate under the existing licence of Thaicom 7.
According to the company’s proposal, Thaicom 8 will serve the rising demand for satellite broadcasting, driven by the upcoming shift to terrestrial digital television, especially for high-definition programmes.
Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap said last week that his ministry had approved Thaicom’s use of the 78.5 degrees east orbital slot for Thaicom 8 and the company had to arrange this with the International Telecommunication Union.
Thaicom plans to launch its Thaicom 6 satellite into the 78.5 degrees east slot, the current location of Thaicom 5, before the end of the year. This orbital location is a technically appropriate slot to serve Thai broadcasters.
Thaicom 6 will be the last to operate under an ICT Ministry concession, with future satellites coming under the NBTC licensing regime.
