The government is being urged to retain the superboard of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) under the new draft NBTC bill.
Gen Boonyavat Kruahongs, the superboard's chairman, said this would help to ensure transparency in financial management as well as balance the power of the national telecom regulator.
"Without the five-member superboard, who will evaluate the annual performance of the 11-member NBTC and scrutinise both past and future expenditure?" he said.
The cabinet last month approved 10 draft digital economy bills including the NBTC bill, which would restructure the power-playing role of the NBTC for improved management transparency and accountability.
All the draft bills are now under scrutiny by the Council of State.
Several independent state agencies have urged the Council of State to amend "impractical" sections of the present Frequency Allocation Act such as by scrapping the NBTC superboard.
They view the superboard as merely a duplication of the NBTC.
However, Gen Boonyavat said the superboard was needed in order to improve transparency in the NBTC's financial management and budget transparency as well as enhancing cost-effectiveness.
"In the past, we've found not a few irregularities and unexplained cases of NBTC members' management potentially costing hundreds of millions of baht," he said.
"Our goal is to protect the public and the national interest."
Gen Boonyavat said the draft NBTC bill would make impeachment of NBTC members easier and focus more on consumer protection.
The present superboard plans to submit a proposal to the government suggesting amendments to the Frequency Allocation Act that would raise the evaluation standards for the NBTC's performance, keeping them in line with rapid technological advances, he said.
However, Gen Boonyavat admitted the NBTC did not recognise the authority of the two-year-old superboard.