Agencies not taken with frequency guidelines
State telecom agencies last week criticised the draft guidelines on frequency transfers for favouring big telecom operators at the expense of small players.
"The regulations will pave the way for giant companies to take up the frequency rights of small guys," a representative of CAT Telecom said during the National Telecommunication Commission's first public hearing on the draft. He asked whether the NTC was stepping beyond its authority by writing up the regulations, but commissioner Sudharma Yoonaidharma said the move was in line with the frequency allocation law. A telecom industry source said the 1,900MHz spectrum jointly belonging to TOT and CAT would be a likely target, since it could host a wireless broadband 3G service. The NTC's draft allows holders of frequency licences to transfer their rights to another party, and allows the other party to ask for the NTC's permission to share or use all of the frequency. Sudharma said anyone wanting to use the frequency of a licensee must meet many criteria under the regulations before the NTC would grant approval. According to the draft, one rights-holder can completely take up the frequency of another holder, but the latter can protest the move. The regulator can permit a rights-holder to take over the frequency of another holder, but it has to prove that the existing holder has failed to maximise use of the frequency for the interest of the country. The takeover of the frequency must also not lead to market dominance. A TOT representative asked the NTC to add in the draft how it would deal with a rights-holder which, after taking over the frequency of another holder, also failed to maximise its use. He also asked whether the NTC or telecom agencies would inherit the frequency rights of private telecoms after their concessions expire. Sudharma said it would be for the NTC to consider who would get such rights. Sudharma said the NTC was also working out the formula for pricing existing frequencies in order to set benchmarks for rights transfers or takeovers. CAT uses 800MHz to provide its CDMA broadband cellular service, while its joint venture with TOT - debt-ridden Thai Mobile - provides a conventional cellular service on 1900MHz. No progress has been reported on its plan to develop a 3G service on 1900MHz. The draft regulations are expected to be completely revised within 30 days after the first hearing, before the NTC takes them up for final consideration.
Usanee Mongkolporn The Nation
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