900MHz auction may be delayed by NBTC role revision

“We will discuss the matter while we await [the formation of] the upcoming digital economy committee,” ICT Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa said yesterday.
The Cabinet decided on Tuesday that eight draft bills on the digital economy should be framed.
The highlight of the proposed bills is that the NBTC will come under the supervision of the digital economy committee.
While the committee will have the final say in assigning spectra to state agencies or the private sector for commercial use, the NBTC will be able to make recommendations to it over such matters.
Under the proposals, the NBTC will still be responsible for auction conditions for commercial use, whereas it currently handles all spectrum assignment and auction matters.
A telecom industry source said the draft bills approved by the Cabinet had been developed in this manner as it was felt that the NBTC had failed to handle spectrum assignment in a way that satisfied both the state and private sectors.
State agency TOT is lobbying the authorities for reclaiming its right to use the 900MHz spectrum.
The 17.5MHz bandwidth currently used by Advanced Info Service under a concession contract with TOT is due to expire this September.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the new bills would reduce duplication among the NBTC, state agencies and the digital economy committee.
“The [digital economy] committee will take control of spectrum assignment, including the spectrum for the 4G licensing auction, which will still take time to draft,” he said.
Pornchai said the government would submit all eight drafts to the Council of State to frame the new laws, before passing them to the National Legislative Assembly for approval within three months.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said the regulator would comply with the existing law on the 4G auction plan within this year.
“However, we are ready to comply with the new bills on the digital economy,” he stressed.
The upcoming digital economy committee will comprise 32 members, most of whom will be representatives from government agencies and only five from the private sector, including a representative from the Federation of Thai Industries.
The committee will be chaired by the prime minister.
Under the new draft law, the NBTC would no longer oversee the Bt20-billion budget of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest.
Another bill deals with management of the fund for digital-economy purposes.
A spectra coordination task force with bordering countries will also be removed from the NBTC's jurisdiction and put under a government agency.
Other drafts include a computer crime bill, which deals with intellectual property and copyright issues, as well as the blocking of websites when there are concerns related to privacy.
A draft cyber-security bill, meanwhile, would allow the state to |establish a national centre to tackle cyber-threats.