New NBTC chairman and four commissioners get royal endorsement
The appointment of five new members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has been royally endorsed, it was announced in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday.
The appointments came into force from April 13, according to the announcement countersigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Clinical Prof Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, a medical specialist and a former member of the defunct National Legislative Assembly, will serve as the NBTC chairman, after being chosen by the new members on January 14.
The four other newly endorsed NBTC commissioners are: the agency’s former deputy secretary-general, Air Marshal Thanapant Raicharoen; Prof Pirongrong Ramasoota, former lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts; Torpong Selanon, president of the Thailand Association of the Blind; and Assoc Prof Suphat Suphachalasai, former director of Thammasat University's Institute of Area Studies.
Sarana will serve as a commissioner for consumer protection, Thanapant for broadcasting, Pirongrong for TV, Torpong for promotion of people's liberty and rights, and Suphat in the economic field.
The five were elected by the Senate on December 20 from seven candidates nominated by the selection committee. They obtained at least 124 votes, half of the total existing members in the Upper House. The other two candidates failed to get the minimum votes.
Watchdog NBTC, which regulates the telecom and broadcasting industries, is in charge of allocating the country’s digital resources including the spectrum bands which serve as the backbone of the digital economy.