A majority of commissioners on the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) submitted an urgent letter to the board chairman recently seeking a resolution on handling public complaints related to the impact of the merger between True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC).
The four commissioners who sent the letter are AM Thanapant Raicharoen, Suphat Supachalasai, Pirongrong Ramasoota and Somphob Purivikraipong.
They want the NBTC's response to complaints via a board resolution at its next meeting on Dec 20, as the complaints have piled up for months.
Chairman Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck is in charge of consumer protection.
According to the letter, the NBTC office should collect facts about the complaints, including the situations, impact on the quality of mobile phone signals, higher tariff rates and automatic changes of service packages as a result of the merger.
True and DTAC completed their merger in March, calling itself True Corporation, after the NBTC board acknowledged the merger in October 2022.
True recently clarified what it described as a misunderstanding about its services, saying it has strictly complied with the regulator's post-merger rules.
The company also refutes complaints that its mobile signal quality has declined after the merger.
Regarding the claim of higher package prices, True said it offers diverse packages for postpaid and prepaid mobile services that fit consumer needs.
There was a previous meeting agenda related to the operations of the subcommittee monitoring and evaluating the merger, in accordance with the NBTC's measures to supervise deals in the telecom sector.
The agenda was listed for consideration by the NBTC board on Nov 23. However, the NBTC office, which has the authority to compile the minutes of each subcommittee meeting, did not send a report on the evaluation to the meeting.
As a result, the NBTC office has not listed a consideration of the merger's effect in the agenda for the board meeting on Dec 20.
On Oct 20, 2022, a majority of the board acknowledged the merger between True and DTAC and set specific measures regarding service rates and contracts, as well as service quality and signal quality.
In accordance with Section 27 of the Frequency Allocation Organization Act of 2010 and its amendments, the NBTC chairman responsible for consumer protection should assign the NBTC office to collect facts about the situation and consumer impacts from telecom services based on the board's resolution.
The NBTC board meeting on Nov 23 approved extending the working term of the subcommittee responsible for monitoring and evaluating the merger from the expiry date on Oct 29.
The four commissioners also asked the chairman to order the NBTC office to set up a working panel to cooperate with related parties to monitor problems related to mobile phone and internet signals, as well as higher prices for service packages.