After the House of Representatives last week, the Senate has also approved an amended Frequency Allocation Bill that will help create an independent body in charge of 3G frequency allocation in Thailand, according to reports.
An earlier version of the…
After the House of Representatives last week, the Senate has also approved an amended Frequency Allocation Bill that will help create an independent body in charge of 3G frequency allocation in Thailand, according to reports.
An earlier version of the bill had been rejected by the lower house of parliament after it was heavily altered by the Senate. A joint House-Senate committee had then been set up to deliberate on the bill.
Called the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the regulator will be able to issue 3G spectrum, ending the long delay to the country’s licensing process.
A few weeks ago, the Thai Supreme Administrative Court upheld the suspension of the 3G licence auction, following a request from state-owned telcos CAT and TOT.
They both applied to the Supreme Administrative Court to stop the process, claiming that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) did not have the authority to award licences. The NTC is currently being transformed into a catch-all media regulator, the NBTC, and a court ruled that this entity should be fully formed before the auction can start.
CAT and TOT also argued that the 3G auction could impact their revenues.
Under existing concessions, operators pay about 25-30% of their revenue to state-owned companies. This would compare to 6% under the new 3G concessions to be awarded.
It is not yet known when the auction will restart but experts in the industry believe it won’t take place before next year.
