Let CAT, TOT keep frequencies: ministry
To help TOT and CAT Telecom survive the loss of concession revenue while the market is liberalised, the Information and Communications Technology Ministry will ask the Council of State if the state-owned enterprises can be allowed to keep the frequencies
“CAT and TOT have vast telecom infrastructure, so why don’t we give them a chance to use it with their spectra to offer services? They’ve been contributing to the public interest, so we can’t let them fall,” ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said this week.
Next week he would instruct his permanent secretary to formally consult with the government’s legal advisory arm on the matter, he said.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has also said it would request the Council of State to clarify the same matter.
The NBTC’s spectrum management master plan requires all state agencies to give to NBTC for reallocation their spectra, which they had granted to private concession holders, after the concessions run out. Under the frequency allocation law, the NBTC will determine the periods for spectrum reallocation, based on public interest.
Anudith said the frequency law also states that when reclaiming the airwaves, the NBTC has to take into consideration the necessity of the state agencies to hold the bands.
The two state telecoms must be provided with “a last chance” to prove that they can compete in this liberalisation era, he said.
CAT and TOT are facing huge concession revenue losses from many factors. The concessions awarded by CAT to 1,800MHz cellular operators TrueMove and Digital Phone Co will expire in September next year.
The frequency allocation law also obliges both state enterprises to pass 100 per cent of their concession revenue to the state starting in 2014.
The NBTC will auction 2.1GHz licences for 3G this October, which will further liberalise the cellular service market.
