Ministry to seek court ruling on CAT's rights on spectrum
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THE INFORMATION and Communications Technology Ministry will ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether CAT Telecom has the right to hold the portion of the 1,800-megahertz spectrum used by Total Access Communication (DTAC) until the state agency's li
ICT Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa said the ministry wanted to clear up all legal disputes and any doubts on CAT’s rights to the spectrum.
The ministry’s move is in response to CAT’s plan to return 5MHz of the unused 25MHz of 1,800MHz held by DTAC to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) for auction on the condition that CAT be allowed to use the remaining 20MHz until 2025.
Pornchai added that the ministry would ask the Constitution Court to consider only this DTAC case, not the 1,800MHz bands of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co or the 900MHz band of Advanced Info Service, all of which the NBTC will put up for auction in November.
However, a telecom industrialist is doubtful a Constitution Court ruling on this matter would have any impact on the NBTC plan to auction the 1,800MHz bands of TrueMove and DPC.
Under the old concession system, CAT granted bandwidth on 1,800MHz to TrueMove and DPC. Two years ago CAT filed a complaint against the NBTC with the Central Administrative Court, disputing the commission’s plan to reclaim this spectrum for auction. CAT said it had the right to hold the spectrum until 2025. The court has yet to make a ruling.
Pornchai said that by seeking a Constitution Court ruling on the matter, the ministry was not trying to delay the NBTC auctions.
