The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of
Thailand will award the long-awaited 2.1-gigahertz spectrum licences this
month.
Settapong Malisuwan, chairman of
the NBTC's telecom committee, said yesterday that he wanted to issue the licences
as a New Year gift to consumers. His remark followed the Central Administrative
Court's ruling yesterday declining to admit for judicial review the Ombudsman's
petition claiming a lack of free and fair competition at the October auction of
bandwidth slots on the spectrum. The court also dismissed the case.
The Ombudsman petitioned on
November 8 that the NBTC's 2.1GHz spectrum auction and the issuance of the
licensing regulations were unlawful, because of the lack of free and fair
competition in the auction as required by the Constitution and the Frequency
Allocation Act. It also urged the court to cancel the regulations related to
licences to operate on the spectrum and to issue an injunction suspending the
licensing.
Settapong said the telecom committee
would convene on Friday to consider the court ruling and the conclusions of the
telecom committee panel that it found no evidence to prove collusion among the
three bid winners.
"After that, we will proceed
to grant the licences to the bid winners before the end of this month,"
Settapong added.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn
Tantasit said that if the telecom committee approves the conclusions of its
sub-panel investigating possible collusion, the committee would go ahead and
grant the licences, which according to the terms of the auction should be
granted before December 20.
The share price of Advanced Info
Service (AIS) yesterday closed at Bt220, unchanged from the close on Friday,
while Total Access Communication (DTAC) dropped 0.85 per cent from 87.75 baht
(US$2.8) on Friday. The share price of True Corp closed at 5.10 baht, up 2 per
cent from the Friday close of 5 baht.
Advanced Wireless Network of AIS,
DTAC Network of DTAC, and Real Future of True were the three winners of slots
on the 2.1GHz spectrum at the auction on October 16. They intend to use the
bandwidth to provide third-generation cellular service.
Settapong did not rule out the
possibility of a new legal challenge but he is confident the NBTC has developed
all licensing processes according to the law and regulations.
Senator Paiboon Nititawan will
today ask the Ombudsman to petition the Constitution Court to examine whether
the NBTC's telecom committee has the authority to endorse the auction outcome,
claiming that the charter states that it is the NBTC's board that has authority
to approve the spectrum allocation.
DTAC chief executive officer Jon
Eddy Abdullah said he hoped the NBTC would go ahead and grant the licences.
Pratthana Leelapanang, AIS vice
president for value-added service business, said at a seminar of the CEO
Networking Forum on "Going Beyond 3G: Opportunities and Competition"
that AIS was ready to invest in the 3G network. The seminar was co-hosted by
the NBTC and the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
Speaking at the same seminar,
Adhiruth Thotaveensaksuk, managing director for mobile-phone business at True
Corp, said all operators were waiting for regulatory certainty and it would
become clear once they got the licences.
According to the court ruling
yesterday, the Ombudsman has no power to probe the NBTC board as it does not
comprise state officials. Therefore, the court declined to accept the case for
judicial review.
Speaking for the Ombudsman, Rakkecha
Chachai said the Ombudsman board would consider whether to appeal against the
ruling.
According to Somkiat
Tangkitvanich, president of the Thailand Development Research Institute, the
court's ruling means Thai consumers will soon have 3G service available.
But he added that NBTC should not
assume the court ruling is an approval of its auction terms and conditions.
Regarding the court's reason for
dismissing the case, the Green Group led by activist Suriyasai Katasila said he
was doubtful whether any state authorities could file a legal challenge against
NBTC regarding the auction. He planned to approach the Central Administrative
Court on this matter today. He will also ask the Ombudsman to appeal against
the court ruling.
The NBTC will focus on the plan
to auction the 1,800-megahertz spectrum next year, Settapong said.
*US$1=30.6 baht
Sirivish Toomgum
Business & Investment Opportunities
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