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Published on December 19, 2007

National Telecommuni-cations Commission (NTC) member Sudharma Yoonai-dharma yesterday said he would push the NTC's work on the regulations, which would give clear details of what practices would be subject to licence revocation along with details of the revocation process.

Sudharma made the remarks on the sidelines of the first public hearing on the regulator's draft of the second Telecom Master Plan (2008-10), which focuses on enforcement over the next three years following completion of all of the NTC's key regulations.

At present, the NTC simply notes in granting all licences that they may be revoked if licensees violate licensing regulations.

Another NTC member, Sethaporn Cusripituck, said that from now on, consumers would be offered much more protection under the second master plan, given that the NTC had already established the Telecommunications Con-sumer Protection Institute.

"In the past, we were preparing the consumer-protection tools. Now we'll focus on enforcement," he said.

There are nearly 50 million mobile-phone subscribers, 6 million fixed-line subscribers and about 13 million Internet users in Thailand.

The NTC is expected to finish its second master plan this month and publish it in the Royal Gazette early next year.

The master plan focuses on eight areas: fair competition, telecom-resource management, consumer protection, universal telecom-service accessibility, promotion of specific telecom businesses, telecom-infrastructure management, development of the NTC's work and research and development.

In its consumer-protection plan, the NTC will collaborate with independent consumer organisations to create a consumer-protection network and revise existing regulations, the better to serve consumers.

Moreover, it has both short and long-term plans for developing consumer-protection staff and systems. Next year, it plans to publish a consumer manual for public distribution and open a one-stop complaint and dispute-arbitration channel.

At present, consumers can file complaints directly with telecom operators. If the telecom operators fail to solve their problems, they can turn to the NTC. The commission must acknowledge receipt of a complaint within seven days and address the problem within 30 days.

The NTC will also focus on enforcing the interconnection-charge regulations next year, Sethaporn said.

These regulations, which took effect in November 2006, require all telecom operators to sign bilateral interconnection-charge agreements with other operators providing for a fair sharing of voice and data revenue between the networks involved in any calls.

Sethaporn said the NTC was expected to issue long-awaited licences to use third-generation wireless broadband spectra next year. It is in the process of hiring a consultant to determine the appropriate allocation method and number of licences.

Usanee Mongkolporn,

 Sirivish Toomgum

 The Nation