Spectrum auctions urged

Spectrum auctions urged

Satellites: Council of State proposal to NBTC

The Council of State has proposed that the national telecom regulator consider allocating spectrum use for commercial satellite service through auctions to comply with international law.

Satellite dishes stand at Thaicom headquarters in Nonthaburi. The country's sole satellite service provider could be hit hard if the goverment and NBTC back the proposal to auction off satellite frequency in order to comply with international laws. Bloomberg

The proposal, however, was against current satellite industry practices set by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), suggesting the NBTC has no right to auction orbital slots as Thailand could not declare its sovereignty in orbital space.

As a result, the regulator also has no right to auction off spectrum used for satellite service. In addition, the satellite business has been fully liberalised for several years.

NBTC commissioner Prawit Leesathapornwongsa said the NBTC's telecom committee needed to take the Council of State's proposal into consideration early next year as it was part of the committee's responsibilities.

Under current practice, if a satellite service provider wants to launch a satellite, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry must start procedures with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to reserve an orbital position and frequency before launching a satellite.

The satellite company needs to receive approval from the NBTC before operating the service.

Mr Prawit said if the government and the NBTC backed the Council of State's suggestion, Thaicom Plc — Thailand's sole satellite service provider — is likely to be hit hard.

Ekachai Phakduron, vice-president for corporate affairs at Thaicom, disagreed with the Council's proposal, saying the ITU has played a critical role in facilitating satellite operations by assigning satellite orbits and managing the international spectrum.

"Allocation of orbital slots and spectrum, two resources used by communications satellites, are under the authority of the ITU," he said, adding that the NBTC has no power to auction off the spectrum.

Furthermore, the 2010 Frequency Allocation Act stipulates that the satellite business falls under a licensing regime.

Thaicom obtained a 30-year concession from the ICT Ministry to provide satellite services. The concession is due to expire in seven years.

Jesada Sivaraks, secretary to the NBTC's vice-chairman, said Thailand's satellite business has been fully liberalised. Thaicom was protected from domestic competition under government concessions only in the first eight years of operations.

Any interested companies can apply for a satellite licence from the NBTC to provide satellite services. But Mr Jesada said there had been no application for a licence, saying the satellite business required large investment and highly skilled personnel and operations.

In addition, Mr Jesada said Thailand has no satellite orbital slot filing with the ITU. Any interested companies must file a reservation for an orbital slot with the ITU on a first come, first served basis.

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