FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Jas Mobile Broadband still faces fee deadline after AIS wins 2G injunction

Jas Mobile Broadband still faces fee deadline after AIS wins 2G injunction

THE CENTRAL Administration Court’s temporary injunction against cutting off Advanced Info Service’s 2G service has no impact on the Monday deadline for Jas Mobile Broadband (JASMBB) to pay its first instalment of the upfront licence fee, the regulator sai

Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said the court order did not mean the commission had to postpone the deadline.
Once JASMBB pays the instalment, the NBTC telecom committee will consider appealing against the court’s ruling on Tuesday, which extends the remedy period for AIS’s second-generation cellular service on the 900-megahertz spectrum by 30 days to April 14.
The two companies that last year won licences to use the 900MHz spectrum have to pay the first instalment of the upfront licence fee and place bank guarantees for the remaining fees to the NBTC by Monday. 
Jas has yet to pay the first instalment, while TrueMove H Universal Communication (TUC) paid the first instalment and later received its licence on Monday. Takorn said JASMBB had reportedly clinched funding from foreign financial sources to fulfil this payment condition.
Takorn said the court ruling had no impact on TUC’s licence.
True Corp said in a statement that it welcomed the court ruling to protect these 900MHz customers for 30 days. It will also speed up the process to finish covering Thailand nationwide with its 2G network using the 900MHz and 1,800MHz spectra by April 14, ahead of the original May schedule. Both the NBTC and its telecom committee acknowledged the court injunction. 
AIS had petitioned the court to order the telecom committee to extend its remedy period. On Monday, the authority ordered AIS to shut the service at midnight Tuesday. This was in line with its rule that AIS has to switch off the 900MHz service once it grants the 900MHz licence to either of the two licence winners. The order prompted AIS to seek an injunction. 
As a result of the court ruling, AIS’s 2G-900MHz customers will have more time to port their mobile phone number to another network.
The court cited the NBTC’s rule on the remedy period – that the regulator has to inform AIS 30 days in advance of the end of the remedy period. The telecom committee informed AIS on Monday that AIS had to switch off the service on midnight of Tuesday.
During the inquiry by the court on its injunction on Tuesday, AIS informed the court that it had 800,000 2G customers on its own network, of whom 400,000 were active. It also has 7.6 million 2G customers on the network of its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network. 
AIS planned to roam these 7.6 million customers on the 1,800MHz network of Total Access Communication (DTAC) if it had to shut down its service on Tuesday. 
There are also 200,000 TOT 3G subscribers roaming on AIS’s 900MHz network for voice service.
AIS had used the 900MHz band to provide service until its concession ended last September. 
This lot of the band was assigned to Jas after the auction of two lots of 900MHz licences last December.
According to the NBTC, AIS is entitled to use only 7.5MHz of its lot during the remedy period, of which 6.9MHz is being used. 
 
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