NBTC rejig slated for July
text size

NBTC rejig slated for July

The organisational transformation of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will be completed within one month of the new NBTC draft bill taking effect in June.

NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the regulator is braced for big changes to cope with the new bill.

The NBTC board approved its new organisational and management structure last September.

The NBTC draft bill passed the first reading by the National Legislative Assembly in 2016, and is expected to pass the second and last hearing by March before taking effect in June.

"Once the law takes effect, we can announce our new organisational structure," Mr Takorn said. He said the regulator will begin its transformation immediately after the announcement.

Mr Takorn insisted the new structure will not seriously affect NBTC's staff.

The number of NBTC commissioners will be cut from 11 to seven, selected from seven sectors: telecommunications, radio broadcasting, TV broadcasting, legal, economics, engineering and consumer protection.

The seven commissioners will be responsible for governing both telecom and broadcasting businesses, overseeing spectrum auctions and managing satellite spectrum.

The current NBTC law sees the 11 commissioners divided into two committees -- telecom and broadcasting -- each with five commissioners and the NBTC chairman sitting on both committees.

In addition, the number of management divisions and directors will decline from 42 to 30 to eliminate redundancy.

The new structure will not affect existing directors of management divisions, said Mr Takorn, as some will be transferred to other divisions with the same benefits and job status.

He said four deputy secretary-general positions will remain, overseeing telecom, broadcasting, provincial affairs and strategy.

An additional three assistant positions to help the NBTC secretary-general will be created, said Mr Takorn.

The NBTC has a total of 1,100 staff nationwide.

The new structure is expected to reduce operating costs by 20% over the next five years, Mr Takorn said.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT