No digital radio this year, says panel chief

No digital radio this year, says panel chief

The roll-out of digital radio is likely to be delayed for more than a year, says a key official at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

Digital radio is part of the NBTC's mission to switch all broadcasting services to digital in order to boost efficiency of frequency use.

Col Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC's broadcasting committee, said digital radio should have begun last year, but conflicts between the regulator and digital TV operators led to delays.

Moreover, digital radio faces regulatory uncertainty with regard to the amendment of eight draft bills related to the digital economy.

Among the eight drafts, the NBTC draft bill will lead to changes in the commission's structure, such as the merger of the broadcasting and telecom panels in line with the convergence of technologies.

The NBTC wants to wait for a clearer picture before issuing any new policies.

For its part, the broadcasting committee faces a cut in its annual budget to 300 million baht, well below its 900-million-baht request.

The decrease will make it difficult for the regulator to drive new projects such as digital radio.

"We feel sorry that digital terrestrial-based radio is unlikely to rise this year," Col Natee said.

Problems related to community radio, such as systematisation and frequency congestion, will continue.

Nationwide there are now more than 4,000 community radio stations, down from as many as 10,000.

Many former stations did not want to operate any more or were not qualified to re-broadcast.

In 2014, all radio stations in Thailand were ordered to temporarily close while the junta checked whether they were being used to create political conflict.

Those that wanted to operate again were required to register and submit to examination by the NBTC.

Col Natee said he regretted that digital radio would not emerge this year, though he noted that human behaviour changes quickly and many people like to listen to online radio.

"This means that digital terrestrial-based radio may not be needed in Thailand," he said.

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