NBTC panel to look into the benefits of 4G
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THE National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has set up a working panel to study the benefits for the country from its plan to licence 1,800- and 900-megahertz spectra.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said yesterday that the panel would finish the study next month and forward it for consideration of the government and the junta. This will pave the way for the NBTC to call bids for bandwidth on the two spectra by next July.
He said the study would focus on benefits besides the huge revenue from up-front payments for the licences and new network investments by the licence winners. Those telecom operators that win the licences are expected to spend a total of Bt250 billion on the up-front payments and their network roll-outs.
The study will also focus on the contribution of the licensing to economic growth, he said.
These spectra can be used for fourth-generation mobile broadband. Earlier, the NBTC planned to auction licences for them this year, but after it seized power the junta ordered it to suspend the schedule for one year, pending “complete clarification” of the plans to the new military regime.
Recently, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said he supported the auction of the 4G licences as soon as possible next year.
Takorn said that last week Meechai Ruchuphan, the member of the military’s National Council for Peace and Order in charge of legal issues, called in the NBTC to explain all the processes related to its plan to auction these new spectrum licences.
Meechai also inquired whether it was possible simply to assign the licences to those committing to provide maximum benefits to the public, instead of using an auction. He also questioned whether it was possible that the annual fee for these new licences could be only 1 per cent of revenue, compared with the 2-per-cent rate of other spectrum licences.
The 2010 Frequency Allocation Act obliges the allocation of telecom spectra by auction only. Takorn said the NBTC would risk heavy criticism if it opted to award the licences by other methods.
He added that the commission could lower the annual licence fee to 1 per cent of revenue but it could not guarantee that the licence holders would pass on the benefits to consumers by reducing service fees.
