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Published on March 24, 2008

The National Telecommuni-cations Commission (NTC) recently submitted its comments to Information and Communications Technology Minister Mun Patanotai as part of his scrutiny of the amendment, which mandates the establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommuni-cations Commission (NBTC).

The NTC directed its comments towards Article 65, which authorises the government to oversee the industry and lay out policies for the NBTC to implement.

The NTC said it should be included in the Act that the government issue the policies in writing and publish them in the Royal Gazette, in order to make them openly accessible to the public.

If the NBTC declines to implement the policies out of concern they may potentially cause harm to the public interest, the NBTC should have the authority to hold a public hearing to let the people make a final decision about whether the policies should be put into action.

In other comments, the NTC said the NBTC should be indemnified against any punishment in the event the government policies do cause damage to the public.

Article 71 - which lets the NTC carry on until the NBTC gets off the ground but prohibits the NTC from renewing and issuing licences once the Act goes into effect - should be changed so it can continue renewing and awarding licences for a certain period.

"If we cannot renew licences, then licensees will face business disruption. If we cannot issue new licences, then there will be no competition in the market," said the NTC, which has granted more than 100 licences in its three years of existence.

Mun needs a few weeks to consider the feedback before deciding whether he will revise the proposed bill before forwarding it to the Cabinet for approval.

The communications committee of the now-defunct National Legislative Assembly initiated the amendment after establishment of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) stalled.

The original Frequency Allocation Act mandated the formation of the NBC and NTC.

But in 2005, the Central Administrative Court nullified the process of selecting 14 candidates for the seven NBC seats, citing unconstitutionality.

The companion Broadcasting Act, which will be implemented by the NBTC, already took effect early this month.

The broadcasting and telecom industries have been eagerly awaiting the NBTC's inception so it can regulate the market and issue licences, including the long-sought licences to operate third-generation (3G) and WiMax wireless broadband services.

Telecoms have wanted to migrate their customers from their state concessions, which carry a high fee of 25 per cent, to 3G, whose fee is expected to be lower. This will help them save on costs.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation