Removing Thailand's never-ending
telecom-broadcasting regulatory
logjam
By Jon Fernquest 
Broadcasting and
telecom concessions
in Thailand are valuable, very valuable.The vested interests that currently own these concessions want to continue to own and control them.
Broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory bodies are a potential threat to these interests, so vested interests seek to control appointments to these regulatory bodies.
That is why choosing a telecommunications or broadcasting regulatory body is difficult and time-consuming.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) mandated by the 1997 People's Constitution was never chosen because the selections process never overcame the issue of conflicts of interest (Read article).
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was eventually selected after many years but has since lost almost all its board members and is languishing and ineffective.
(Read about NBC and NTC selection in Pasuk and Baker, Thaksin: The business of politics in Thailand, NBC: 151-155, NTC: 208-209).
Merging telecom and broadcasting regulators
"Media convergence" is the process of telecoms and broadcasting becoming roughly the same thing.In other words, your TV is slowly becoming part of the internet.
So merging telecoms and broadcasting regulation makes sense.
This week a bill to set up a merged broadcasting and telecommunications regulator passed its first reading in the House of Representatives.
The new law seeks to combine the National Telecommunications and National Broadcasting commissions into a single regulator called the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
Critics say the proposed law does not adequately protect the regulatory board from conflicts of interest. The proposed law gives "investors leeway to dominate the commission" and fails "to keep business operators from the commission's selection process."
Business operators are merely required to resign from telecoms businesses after being selected rather being barred from selection in the first place. Critics of the proposed law favour a version where "NBTC members must not have been executives or shareholders of a broadcasting or telecommunications company within the past five years."
Here is the article in full:
Economics
FAILING GRADE FOR REGULATOR
NTC has used legal uncertainties as an excuse for not taking bolder steps to develop the industry.By Komsan Tortermvasana
2/03/2009
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has faced heavy criticism of its low-key supervisory role ever since it was set up in 2004.
The NTC was the first regulatory body created under the Frequency Allocation Act that took effect in 2000. An amendment to the act is now before Parliament but its chances of passage are unclear.
The commission is currently serving on a provisional basis as three of its seven members have left office after finishing half of their six-year terms. As another commissioner has resigned, only three remain. No headway on replacing the four commissioners has been made since October 2007.
telecoms, telecommunications - communication
by telephone and radio
broadcasting - TV and radio (or more generally, sending any media (radio, tv, internet video or audio) from one source to many recipients in real-time, without a delay)
logjam - something that prevents or greatly delays progress (an immovable mass of logs blocking a river)
regulation (noun) - the laws that control and govern the industry or activity
regulatory (adjective)
regulatory logjam - something that prevents or greatly delays the regulation of an industry
regulatory body - a group of people who make decisions about regulation in an industry
potential threat - might harm them, have an effect on the value of their investment
time-consuming - uses up a lot of time
concession - official permission from the government to do a certain type of business
interests, ownership interests, stakes - 1. the amount of a business that you own, 2. how much you will gain or lose from a decision
vested interests - the people who have interests
conflicts of interest - when personal gain conflicts with decisions for the benefit of the public that it is your duty to make
appointments - people who are chosen to serve in a special position (appointed)
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) - the first independent state telecommunications regulator in Thailand, regulates all telecommunications services, formulates a master plan, sets criteria and categories of telecommunications services, permits and regulates the use of spectrum for telecommunications services and grants licenses to telecommunications operators (See website and policy)
National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) - a proposed combined telecoms and broadcasting regulator
X mandated by Y - X given the power and authority to a job by Y
merging - joining together into one
first reading - the first of three readings in parliament, after which a vote is taken
passed its first reading - voted to continue with further readings and possible final vote on the proposed law
the House of representatives - the wholly elected larger part of parliament
the Senate - the partly elected and partly appointed part of parliament
media convergence - the gradual removal of entry barriers acrossIT, telecoms, media and consumer electronics industries, creating one large 'converged' industry
resign - officially choose to stop working at a company
barred - prevented from doing
faced heavy criticism - many people were finding fault and expressing their disapproval about it
low-key - a small amount of acticity (done without much public notice)
low-key supervisory role - supervise without attracting attention to what you are doing
Frequency Allocation Act - Thailand's law for allocating the airwaves or electromagnetic spectrum
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
the airwaves - the part of the spectrum used for boradcasting
amendment - changing a law
chances of passage - the ossibility or likelihood that a new law will become active
broadcasting - TV and radio (or more generally, sending any media (radio, tv, internet video or audio) from one source to many recipients in real-time, without a delay)
logjam - something that prevents or greatly delays progress (an immovable mass of logs blocking a river)
regulation (noun) - the laws that control and govern the industry or activity
regulatory (adjective)
regulatory logjam - something that prevents or greatly delays the regulation of an industry
regulatory body - a group of people who make decisions about regulation in an industry
potential threat - might harm them, have an effect on the value of their investment
time-consuming - uses up a lot of time
concession - official permission from the government to do a certain type of business
interests, ownership interests, stakes - 1. the amount of a business that you own, 2. how much you will gain or lose from a decision
vested interests - the people who have interests
conflicts of interest - when personal gain conflicts with decisions for the benefit of the public that it is your duty to make
appointments - people who are chosen to serve in a special position (appointed)
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) - the first independent state telecommunications regulator in Thailand, regulates all telecommunications services, formulates a master plan, sets criteria and categories of telecommunications services, permits and regulates the use of spectrum for telecommunications services and grants licenses to telecommunications operators (See website and policy)
National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) - a proposed combined telecoms and broadcasting regulator
X mandated by Y - X given the power and authority to a job by Y
merging - joining together into one
first reading - the first of three readings in parliament, after which a vote is taken
passed its first reading - voted to continue with further readings and possible final vote on the proposed law
the House of representatives - the wholly elected larger part of parliament
the Senate - the partly elected and partly appointed part of parliament
media convergence - the gradual removal of entry barriers acrossIT, telecoms, media and consumer electronics industries, creating one large 'converged' industry
resign - officially choose to stop working at a company
barred - prevented from doing
faced heavy criticism - many people were finding fault and expressing their disapproval about it
low-key - a small amount of acticity (done without much public notice)
low-key supervisory role - supervise without attracting attention to what you are doing
Frequency Allocation Act - Thailand's law for allocating the airwaves or electromagnetic spectrum
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
the airwaves - the part of the spectrum used for boradcasting
amendment - changing a law
chances of passage - the ossibility or likelihood that a new law will become active
Despite its provisional status, the NTC has undertaken to issue 3G licensing rules this year and has announced that a 3G auction for the 2.1 GHz band with the remaining 45 MHz spectrum could be held by year-end and that service could be launched next year.
This latest timeline came after several previous schedules fell through. Meanwhile, the NTC's inaction has affected the investment confidence of the Big Three mobile players: Advanced Info Service, DTAC and True Move.
All of the companies have been forced to review their investment plans for providing 3G service using HSPA (high-speed packet access) technology on their original frequencies, an approach known as "in-band migration".
They have said that if the NTC could issue 3G licences on the new 2.1GHz slot more quickly, then investment in 3G would be more attractive. However, if they have to use the existing 850 and 900 MHz bands, they would have to pay fees under the terms of their concessions with the state telecom enterprises.
Delay in issuing 3G licences has stemmed from a lack of clarity about the role and authority of the NTC itself.
provisional -
temporary, not permanent
status - the category or classification of a person, thing, or organization
provisional status - temporary, not permanent
3G - third generation mobile phone, the next level of mobile phone services beyond the current second generation (2G), supports broadband internet, supports greater numbers of voice and data customers especially in urban areas (See Wikipedia on 3G)
3G licensing - permission given to a telephone company to provide 3G telephone service
2.1 GHz band, a 2.1GHz slot, 45 MHz spectrum - different ways of referring to frequencies or spectrum
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
launch a new service - begin a new service
players - participants in an industry
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) - a collection of mobile telephone protocols with improved performance over many older protocols such as GMS and CDMA, see below (See Wikipedia)
GMS - the mobile phone standard used in Thailand, the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world, an estimated 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard, used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories (See Wikipedia)
CDMA service - a mobile phone communications protocol widely used in the United States, higher capacity than GSM and better for multimedia (See Wikipedia on Code division multiple access (CDMA))
X stemmed from Y - Y caused X, Y was the reason for X
pay fees under the terms of their concessions
an enterprise - a company
a state enterprise - a government owned company
state telecom enterprises - telecoms companies owned and run by the government
status - the category or classification of a person, thing, or organization
provisional status - temporary, not permanent
3G - third generation mobile phone, the next level of mobile phone services beyond the current second generation (2G), supports broadband internet, supports greater numbers of voice and data customers especially in urban areas (See Wikipedia on 3G)
3G licensing - permission given to a telephone company to provide 3G telephone service
2.1 GHz band, a 2.1GHz slot, 45 MHz spectrum - different ways of referring to frequencies or spectrum
spectrum, frequencies - parts of the limited electromagnetic spectrum that is used for radio, mobile phones, and TV broadcasting
launch a new service - begin a new service
players - participants in an industry
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) - a collection of mobile telephone protocols with improved performance over many older protocols such as GMS and CDMA, see below (See Wikipedia)
GMS - the mobile phone standard used in Thailand, the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world, an estimated 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard, used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories (See Wikipedia)
CDMA service - a mobile phone communications protocol widely used in the United States, higher capacity than GSM and better for multimedia (See Wikipedia on Code division multiple access (CDMA))
X stemmed from Y - Y caused X, Y was the reason for X
pay fees under the terms of their concessions
an enterprise - a company
a state enterprise - a government owned company
state telecom enterprises - telecoms companies owned and run by the government
The Frequency Allocation Act has been in place since 2000 but it took four years to form the NTC. The other regulatory body, the National Broadcasting Commission, has yet to be established because of endless political wrangling over the suitability and potential conflicts of interest of prospective members.
Problems are rooted in the legal requirement for joint consideration by both the NTC and NBC in allocating frequencies to operators. It was felt that because 3G in particular involved elements of broadcasting, it should be overseen by a broadcasting regulator.
This was resolved after the Council of State ruled that the NTC could allocate frequencies under the Telecom Master Plan while the NBC was in abeyance.
In addition, the council said the NTC could use the International Telecommunication Union's frequency allocation tables for frequency management.
But questions have again arisen about the NTC's role. Aside from broadcasting service, does the NTC do enough in terms of frequency management for telecommunications?
Telecom and broadcasting business operators, as well as academics and operators in related businesses, agree that delays originated in how the laws were framed, but that NTC has used the uncertainties as an excuse for not acting more boldly.
Issues awaiting resolution
The NTC, they say, has lacked the courage to go ahead on several fronts, notably by taking too long to allocate frequencies for 3G.For example, the commission announced in 2007 it would speed up the 3G licensing framework, number portability, WiMax and wireless access within a year. So far,no progress has been made.
Interconnection regulations, for instance, were announced more than three years ago. However, they still cannot be fully implemented and disputes linger between private operators and state concession owners.
on several fronts - in
several different areas (solving several different problems)
allocation - divide up something and giving it to people
allocate frequencies - divide up frequencies (and assign to different uses and companies)
number portability - the ability to keep the same phone number when you move from company to company
WiMAX - a wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances, can be used for last mile broadband connections, Hotspots, cellular backhall and high-speed enterprise connectivity (See Telus glossary)
progress, make progress - gradually improving and working towards a goal
no progress has been made - did not improve and work towards your goal
how the laws were framed - the details of the laws, the procedures (should be clear, so there is no misunderstanding)
resolve issues - make a decision to settle the issue and end the problem
allocation - divide up something and giving it to people
allocate frequencies - divide up frequencies (and assign to different uses and companies)
number portability - the ability to keep the same phone number when you move from company to company
WiMAX - a wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances, can be used for last mile broadband connections, Hotspots, cellular backhall and high-speed enterprise connectivity (See Telus glossary)
progress, make progress - gradually improving and working towards a goal
no progress has been made - did not improve and work towards your goal
how the laws were framed - the details of the laws, the procedures (should be clear, so there is no misunderstanding)
resolve issues - make a decision to settle the issue and end the problem
Although AIS, DTAC and True Move have all signed interconnection agreements with each other since February 2007 - with billing implemented shortly afterwards - the agreements have never been endorsed by TOT and CAT Telecom. The two state enterprises fear the new interconnection-fee system will bring them far less money that the concession-based revenue-sharing payments on which they depend so heavily.
In addition, the NTC has yet to announce a standard rate for interconnection fees, which operators charge each other for carrying traffic across various networks.
Without the enforcement of a full interconnection regime, the free competition hoped for by the NTC cannot be achieved because the interconnection charge is intended to also cover the Internet Protocol network.
As a result, there are now fewer internet service providers than the number of ISP licences issues, even though some small operators are eager to enter the high-speed internet service in both wired and wireless modes.
interconnection fees
- the money paid when a phone call moves from one network to another
network
internet service providers (ISP) - an Internet Service Provider, a company that provides access to the internet (See Wikipedia)
ISP license issues - permission for using an ISP
wired and wireless modes - internet without a wire (radio) and with a wire (through the telephone)
internet service providers (ISP) - an Internet Service Provider, a company that provides access to the internet (See Wikipedia)
ISP license issues - permission for using an ISP
wired and wireless modes - internet without a wire (radio) and with a wire (through the telephone)
(Source #1: Bangkok Post, business, 2/03/09, FAILING GRADE FOR REGULATOR: NTC has used legal uncertainties as an excuse for not taking bolder steps to develop the industry, Komsan Tortermvasana, link)
(Source #2: Bangkok Post, business, 5/03/09, BROADCASTING: Single regulator bill passes first reading, MONGKOL BANGPRAPA, link)
