The Council of State has ruled that the National Telecommunications Commission can go ahead with shedding three commissioners as required by law, even though only six out of the full seven are left.

In February, the NTC consulted with the government's legal advisory arm on the problem after Artorn Chandavimol resigned as a commissioner last year.

The frequency-allocation law requires that the NTC must hold a draw to pick three members out of the seven to step down after completing its first three years of operation, which is in September.

Then a recruiting committee will be set up to find three new commissioners.

The committee must be composed of 17 members - five from the public sector, four from educational institutions, four from professional telecom associations and four from the consumer-protection field.

While the government and educational sectors have already named their representatives, the telecom and consumer sectors have yet to appoint theirs.

Preparations to replace Artorn have made no progress for the same reason. The Council of State has advised the NTC that it proceed with selecting new members, though the screening committee membership falls short of 17.

However, the NTC's future awaits the National Legislative Assembly's possible amendment of the telecom and frequency-allocation laws to allow the merger of the NTC and the National Broadcasting Commission.