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Published on January 2, 2008

National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) secretary-general Suranan Wongvithayakamjorn last week said Article 90 of the new Broadcasting Act required the NTC to oversee the broadcasting industry pending establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

The Broadcasting Act was passed last month and is waiting to be published in the Royal Gazette.

During the transition, the NTC will grant licences valid for only one year to community radio stations, which can use or not use the spectrum, and will supervise their operations.

It will set their programming ratios, review programming plans and monitor radio-transmission power to prevent possible jamming of other frequencies. The NTC will also set up a committee chaired by the permanent secretary of the PM's Office to work out details and present a plan for the NTC's approval.

The committee members include the permanent secretaries or their representatives from the defence and education ministries, the secretary-general of the Council of State, and the directors-general of the Public Relations and Provincial Administration departments.

The other committee members will be the chief of the National Police and secretary-general of the National Culture Commission. Suranan will serve as both a member and the secretary of the committee.

The NTC is waiting for the new government to be completely in place before asking for Cabinet permission to launch the committee.

The NTC also faces a backlog of work. Recently, it said that this year it would devote itself to finishing the regulations it failed to promulgate last year, including for national number portability, which will allow telecom consumers to retain their existing phone number when switching to another network.

The regulator also vows to work harder on enforcing consumer protection regulations this year. The country is waiting for the advent of the NBTC. The Council of State is screening the Frequency Allocation Act amendment, which mandates the NBTC's establishment.

Usanee Mongkolporn, The Nation