Assistance measures may need to be provided for customers of Thaicom satellites 4, 5 and 6 if the Digital Economy and Society (DE) Ministry fails to lure companies to buy the rights to these satellite assets and control stations after Thaicom's concession expires in September 2021, says the telecom regulator.
Thaicom 4 operates on orbital slot 119.5 East, while Thaicom 5 and 6 are at 78.5 East.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), said the agency plans to begin awarding licences for the use of the satellite orbit slots of Thaicom 4, 5 and 6 by early next year.
He said the ministry is in the process of hiring advisers to draft conditions for holding the rights to the satellite assets and control stations.
Thaicom 5, which is projected to have its satellite battery expire in September 2020, needs a new battery installed for operations to continue until 2025, said Mr Takorn.
Although the cabinet approved the battery installation in 2017, the process has yet to begin.
Thaicom operates three satellites under a revenue-sharing concession regime: Thaicom 4 or iPSTAR, a broadband satellite, Thaicom 5 and Thaicom 6, both of which are broadcasting satellites.
Thaicom also operates Thaicom 7 and 8 under licences granted by the NBTC that require only 5.75% licence fee payments to the regulator.
The government plans to replace concessions in satellite businesses with a licensing regime to promote liberalisation of the industry while maintaining state benefits.
Mr Takorn said the NBTC has completed three related regulation drafts for the satellite business.
The drafts will be proposed to the NBTC board by this month for approval, he said.
Mr Takorn was speaking after a meeting with DE Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta, who visited the agency yesterday.
Mr Buddhipongse said he was concerned about problems that could arise during the transition period when the concession expires.
"A smooth transition is needed," he said.
Mr Buddhipongse said four agenda items require collaboration between the ministry and the NBTC to optimise benefits for the public.
They concern maintenance of the national broadband network for villagers, known as the "Net Pracharat" scheme, Thaicom's concession expiration, 5G adoption by 2020 and 10 digits for fixed-line phone numbers nationwide by 2021.