NTC to issue rules for 3G licensing
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has confirmed it will introduce licensing regulations for the third-generation (3G) broadband cellular business next year, despite the absence of a National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
NTC chairman Choochart Promphrasid yesterday said the telecom sector could not wait too long to adopt the new technology. "I think it's time for the commissioners to make a decision on the matter," he said. Choochart said the NTC would act on a ruling from the Council of State that the NTC "might be able" to refer to the frequency table of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a guideline for managing the telecom industry. The ITU is an international organisation under the United Nations in which governments and private companies work together to coordinate the operations of telecom networks and services and advance the development of communications technology. The Council of State's ruling came after the NTC asked whether it could issue the new frequency licences in the absence of the National Broadcasting Commission. Telecom operators are eager to obtain the 3G licences so they can use the blazing speed of the new technology to provide wireless services like video calling and interactive wireless games, thereby earning more revenues. Choochart said operators whose existing frequencies could be developed to offer 3G services could immediately submit applications for consideration by the NTC. The NTC was expected to formulate 3G licensing regulations some time last year, before the Central Administrative Court nullified the selection process for 14 candidates for seven seats on the NBC in November 2005. Telecom law requires both the NTC and the NBC jointly to create the national frequency table, manage the broadcasting and telecom spectra and prescribe rules for their use. Coincidentally, the five-day Telecom World 2006 forum held by the ITU in Hong Kong and which ends today discussed expansion of the forum's theme to include both broadcasting and telecommunications, because of the convergence of the two technologies. Currently, only state-run Thai Mobile owns a 1900MHz spectrum band that can be used to develop 3G services. The now-defunct Frequency Allocation Committee gave the bandwidth to Thai Mobile in the pre-NTC era. The NTC has permitted Thai Mobile to develop 3G services. Usanee Mongkolporn The Nation
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