The National Telecommuni-cations Commission (NTC) yesterday launched a fierce defence of its authority to issue licences for the use of frequency spectra for the broadcasting of telecommunication signals.
In an apparent counter to the legal challenge from CAT Telecom, the NTC said it had been granting permission for use of frequency spectra since 2007.
CAT Telecom has challenged the NTC's licensing authority under the current Constitution, and the commission is facing an uphill battle over its jurisdiction, in particular whether it has the authority to issue licences for third-generation (3G) mobile services, including wireless broadband.
NTC deputy secretary Prasert Apipunya said: "We want to inform the public that the NTC does not focus on the 3G-spectrum licences alone, but also on other spectrum issues as well."
The Supreme Administrative Court is scheduled to rule tomorrow on the NTC's appeal against the injunction granted by the Central Administrative Court. The injunction halted the NTC's planned granting of licences for 3G services using the 2.1GHz spectrum, and its licensing regulations.
The NTC held a news conference yesterday to emphasise its claim to have operated legitimately in granting permissions to use various spectra since 2007, the year in which the current Constitution took effect.
It said its power to grant spectrum use was conferred by the 2000 Frequency Allocation Act and an amended version of the 2001 Telecom Business Act.
Last week, CAT's legal challenge before the Central Administrative Court claimed the NTC had no authority to grant 3G licences under the current Constitution, because it provided for the formation of a new body, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). CAT said that the 2000 Frequency Allocation Act - the organic law under the previous charter - also ended when the current Constitution came into effect.
Among the state agencies to which the NTC has granted permission to use various spectra since 2007 are TOT, CAT Telecom, Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, and many other state agencies and ministries. The NTC prohibits all of them from deploying the granted spectra for broadcasting use, pending the permission of the yet-to-be-formed NBTC.
Key permissions granted to TOT and CAT include the transfer of ownership rights to the 1,900MHz to 2,100MHz band from CAT to TOT; consent for TOT to allow Advanced Info Service (AIS) to provide 3G services on the 900MHz frequency; agreement for CAT to allow Total Access Communication (DTAC) and TrueMove to provide 3G services on the 850MHz frequency; and permission for TOT to upgrade its analogue services on the 470MHz frequency to provide a digital cellular service.
'HARM' TO THE COUNTRY
Thailand Development Research Institute vice president Somkiat Tangkitvanit said in a separate statement yesterday that if the granting of 3G licences was further delayed, it could harm the county's investment climate and deny millions of Thais, who would like to subscribe to 3G wireless-broadband services.
Cancellation of the NTC's plans to auction the 3G licences could also affect mobile-content providers, and other related businesses would also feel the impact.
Somkiat said that if it was legally clear that the NTC had no authority to issue 3G licences, the government would have to speedily pass the NBTC Bill.
He said one could not rule out the possibility of a "political incident" that could delay the 3G-spectrum licensing for a further decade.
Meanwhile, the members of online social networks have started a signature campaign to pressure the government to ask CAT to drop its case against the NTC. In their view 3G licensing will lead to telecom industry reform.