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The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will consider CAT Telecom’s proposal to transfer 5 megahertz of bandwidth from Total Access Communication’s portion of the 1,800MHz spectrum to the regulator for reallocation, if no conditions are imposed, Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said yesterday.

If the NBTC agrees to add the band to its auction plan, it will have 30MHz of the 1,800MHz spectrum up for grabs.

However, this could cause the auction to be delayed from this year, as the watchdog might need more time to adjust bidding details.

Takorn said the NBTC and CAT should complete the talks on the spectrum transfer this month to avoid changing the auction schedule.

He also said Thai TV Co must pay Bt1.6 billion for the remaining five instalments of the up-front fees for its digital-channel licences before Sunday’s deadline.

If Thai TV Co, which holds two of the licences, still refuses to pay the fees, it will forfeit its bank guarantees.

cheap rice scheme

The Commerce Ministry will cooperate with the Agriculture and Interior ministries to produce cheap rice packs for sale to low-income earners.

The ministry will also kick off the “low-cost shop” project on June 19. It will sell about 30 cheap consumer products through 136 local retail shops nationwide, Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday.

The cheap-rice and low-cost shop schemes are part of the government’s plan to help alleviate the high cost of living, he said.

still in driver’s seat

Thailand will remain the dominant carmaker in Asean for the foreseeable future after the establishment of the Asean Economic Community at the end of this year, Moody’s Investors Service said yesterday.

However, the region faces competitive threats from the fast-developing Indian and Chinese car markets.

The biggest risk to Thailand’s and Asean’s auto industry is from outside the region. China’s car industry is assembling more than 24 million vehicles per year, and India’s 700,000 exported vehicles last year came close to Thailand’s 882,000 units exported in the same year.

new show for channel 3

Channel 3 will replace “Ching Roi Ching Lan” with the “3 Variety Show” from 2.45-4.30pm on Sundays.

The new programme is produced by long-time content partner Born and Association, Surin Krittiyaphonphun, executive vice president of Bangkok Entertainment Co, the operator of Channel 3, said yesterday.