Protectionism for Thailand's telecommunications industry?
By Jon Fernquest
Few
would argue that telecommunications and
broadcasting
policy in Thailand is both difficult to understand
and also seems to go
on forever without achieving any resolution. Most notoriously the appointment of the National Broadcasting Commission mandated by the so-called 1997 "People's constitution" dragged on for years and finally was never even appointed (See the book Thaksin by Pasuk and Baker, Second expanded edition, 2009, pages 151-152).
Most people perhaps fall asleep when the topic comes up or at least scratch their head trying to make sense of it all.
This week policy discussions finally took a turn that promises to wake everyone up in what might be a dangerous protectionist turn.
Today's article extract begins after the vocabulary (full article here).
Also read previous articles on this topic (archive #1, #2 and #3).
telecommunications,
telecoms - communications
by radio waves using mobile phones, TV, radio, broadband internet การโทรคมนาคม
หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข (See Wikipedia)
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)
policy - high level plans to achieve goals made in the government or some other organization นโยบาย
resolution - solving a problem and thus ending the problem
notoriously - famous in a bad sort of way
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
conflicts of interest - when personal gain conflicts with decisions for the benefit of the public that it is your duty to make
mandate - being given the power to do something (by those who have more power than you)
1997 People's constitution -Thailand's innovative constitution written during a long process of public consultation during the 1990s, guarantees the Thai people many rights (See Wikipedia)
dragged on - keep going for a long time (too long)
the topic comes up - when people start talking about this subject or topic again
make sense of - come to understand something
protectionist - policies, ideas, or laws that reduce imports into a country from other countries (Seeglossary)
extract - a part of a larger article, taken and published separately
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)
policy - high level plans to achieve goals made in the government or some other organization นโยบาย
resolution - solving a problem and thus ending the problem
notoriously - famous in a bad sort of way
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) - the regulatory body for telecommunications in Thailand, never selected due to conflict of interest problems
conflicts of interest - when personal gain conflicts with decisions for the benefit of the public that it is your duty to make
mandate - being given the power to do something (by those who have more power than you)
1997 People's constitution -Thailand's innovative constitution written during a long process of public consultation during the 1990s, guarantees the Thai people many rights (See Wikipedia)
dragged on - keep going for a long time (too long)
the topic comes up - when people start talking about this subject or topic again
make sense of - come to understand something
protectionist - policies, ideas, or laws that reduce imports into a country from other countries (Seeglossary)
extract - a part of a larger article, taken and published separately
Telecommunications
Telecom rule bashed
Proposed foreign dominance law 'crazy'13/08/2010
Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn
A proposed regulation to curb "foreign dominance" in the Thai telecommunications industry is "totally crazy" and violates world trade rules, says an independent telecom expert.
If the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) makes good on its threat to enforce the rule, operators could file legal suits with the Administrative Court or the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said Anuparb Thiralarp.
bashed - attacked
and criticized by people who oppose it
dominance - being more powerful than others
proposed - suggested (but not yet chosen or decided upon)
regulation - an official rule that controls the way that things are done in some industry or activity กฎระเบียบ, ระเบียบข้อบังคับ
curb - stop or reduce, to control or limit something that is harmful ลดหรือยุต, ระงับ, ควบคุม
telecommunications - communications by radio waves using mobile phones, TV, radio, broadband internet.. (See Wikipedia)
violates - broke or acted against something, especially a law, agreement, principle or something that should be treated with respect ละเมิด
trade - the buying and selling of goods and services การค้าขาย
independent - free from outside influence เป็นอิสระ
telecom - telecommunications, dealing with telephones การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข
threat - an occasion when someone says that they will cause you harm or problems, especially if you do not do what they want you to do การคุกคาม,การขู่เข็ญ
enforce - to make sure laws are obeyed (arrest and give jail terms and fines if they are not obeyed)
operators - companies that offer mobile phone service (for example: AIS, DTAC, Orange)
file - to take official action, in this case, to make an official complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
file legal suits - officially start a legal case in a court of law against someone
Administrative Court- a court that solves disputes concerning the exercise of public power and government administration (See court website, history of Thailand's administrative courtand Wikipedia on administrative law)
World Trade Organisation (WTO) - the international organization that helps countries overcome trade disputes (See Wikipedia)
dominance - being more powerful than others
proposed - suggested (but not yet chosen or decided upon)
regulation - an official rule that controls the way that things are done in some industry or activity กฎระเบียบ, ระเบียบข้อบังคับ
curb - stop or reduce, to control or limit something that is harmful ลดหรือยุต, ระงับ, ควบคุม
telecommunications - communications by radio waves using mobile phones, TV, radio, broadband internet.. (See Wikipedia)
violates - broke or acted against something, especially a law, agreement, principle or something that should be treated with respect ละเมิด
trade - the buying and selling of goods and services การค้าขาย
independent - free from outside influence เป็นอิสระ
telecom - telecommunications, dealing with telephones การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข
threat - an occasion when someone says that they will cause you harm or problems, especially if you do not do what they want you to do การคุกคาม,การขู่เข็ญ
enforce - to make sure laws are obeyed (arrest and give jail terms and fines if they are not obeyed)
operators - companies that offer mobile phone service (for example: AIS, DTAC, Orange)
file - to take official action, in this case, to make an official complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
file legal suits - officially start a legal case in a court of law against someone
Administrative Court- a court that solves disputes concerning the exercise of public power and government administration (See court website, history of Thailand's administrative courtand Wikipedia on administrative law)
World Trade Organisation (WTO) - the international organization that helps countries overcome trade disputes (See Wikipedia)
A complaint to the WTO could focus on discrimination based on the obligations of most-favoured nation (MFN) and national treatment (NT) status under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), he said.
Operators could also take legal action in the Criminal Court against the NTC under Section 157 for wilful neglect of statutory duty.
complaint
- when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory
การร้องเรียน
focus - the main thing it is concerned with ให้ความสำคัญ
discrimination - the practice of treating someone or a particular group in society less fairly than others
obligations - things you must do; duties หน้าที่ที่พึงกระทำ
most-favoured nation (MFN) - the normal or regular tariff rate nowadays (historically was this meant that if you signed a Free Trade Agreement with another country with a Most Favorite Nation clause in it, all the terms of the treaty would apply to all the other countries that you had similar agreements with (See Wikipedia)
national - of a particular country
treatment - that way that a person or problem is dealt with
status - official or legal position สถานภาพ
status - the category or classification of a person, thing, or organization
national treatment (NT) status - "non-discriminatory trade policy commitment which, under GATT (now WTO) rules, implies that a government cannot treat foreign exporting firms any less favorably that its own (local) manufacturing firms" (Source: BusinessDictionary.com)
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) - "a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for merchandise trade" (See Wikipedia)
neglect - to give not enough care or attention to people or things that are your responsibility การละเลย
wilful neglect - when a person chooses not to do some task that is their responsibility
statutory - decided or controlled by law ตามกฎหมาย
duty - something that you have to do because it is part of your job, or something that you feel is the right thing to do หน้าที่, ความรับผิดชอบ
wilful neglect of statutory duty
focus - the main thing it is concerned with ให้ความสำคัญ
discrimination - the practice of treating someone or a particular group in society less fairly than others
obligations - things you must do; duties หน้าที่ที่พึงกระทำ
most-favoured nation (MFN) - the normal or regular tariff rate nowadays (historically was this meant that if you signed a Free Trade Agreement with another country with a Most Favorite Nation clause in it, all the terms of the treaty would apply to all the other countries that you had similar agreements with (See Wikipedia)
national - of a particular country
treatment - that way that a person or problem is dealt with
status - official or legal position สถานภาพ
status - the category or classification of a person, thing, or organization
national treatment (NT) status - "non-discriminatory trade policy commitment which, under GATT (now WTO) rules, implies that a government cannot treat foreign exporting firms any less favorably that its own (local) manufacturing firms" (Source: BusinessDictionary.com)
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) - "a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for merchandise trade" (See Wikipedia)
neglect - to give not enough care or attention to people or things that are your responsibility การละเลย
wilful neglect - when a person chooses not to do some task that is their responsibility
statutory - decided or controlled by law ตามกฎหมาย
duty - something that you have to do because it is part of your job, or something that you feel is the right thing to do หน้าที่, ความรับผิดชอบ
wilful neglect of statutory duty
The draft regulation is totally crazy and nonsensical," said Mr Anuparb.
However, he admitted compliance with the rule could be "unavoidable", as the NTC had the authority to establish regulations that governed the industry. The regulator could terminate operators' services for failure to comply.
draft
- not in a final form and likely to be changed ร่าง
draft - written for consideration, but not yet in its final form ฉบับร่าง
nonsense (noun) - words and sentences that seem like they have meaning but are actually meaningless
nonsensical (adjective)
compliance - following a rule or law
unavoidable - impossible to stop from happening หลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้, อย่างเลี่ยงไม่ได้
authority - power (has power to do things) อำนาจ
establish - create for the first time
regulations - official rules that control the way that things are done ระเบียบปฏิบัติ, ระเบียบ, ข้อบังคับ
terminate - to end or stop สิ้นสุด
comply - to obey a rule or a law การปฏิบัติตามกฎ
failure to comply - does not obey a rule or a law
draft - written for consideration, but not yet in its final form ฉบับร่าง
nonsense (noun) - words and sentences that seem like they have meaning but are actually meaningless
nonsensical (adjective)
compliance - following a rule or law
unavoidable - impossible to stop from happening หลีกเลี่ยงไม่ได้, อย่างเลี่ยงไม่ได้
authority - power (has power to do things) อำนาจ
establish - create for the first time
regulations - official rules that control the way that things are done ระเบียบปฏิบัติ, ระเบียบ, ข้อบังคับ
terminate - to end or stop สิ้นสุด
comply - to obey a rule or a law การปฏิบัติตามกฎ
failure to comply - does not obey a rule or a law
The NTC recently announced a draft regulation that would curb foreign dominance of the local telecom business. The rule would take effect only after being published in the Royal Gazette.
It defines "foreign dominance" as direct or indirect control or influence of a company in setting policy and engaging in management beyond that permitted by share ownership. The draft rule also covers nominees and foreign ownership that exceeds the levels permissible by law.
Royal Gazette - the
official book that new laws in Thailand are recorded in
local - in the area or country that you live in ท้องถิ่น
direct - A affects D
indirect - A affects B affects C affects D (effect only comes through a chain of effects)
influence - to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves or thinks มีอิทธิพลต่อ, ชักจูง อำนาจบังคับ
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
setting policy - creating policy
engaging in Y - doing activity Y
share - stock shares in a company (that give a person a small part of the ownership of a company)
local - in the area or country that you live in ท้องถิ่น
direct - A affects D
indirect - A affects B affects C affects D (effect only comes through a chain of effects)
influence - to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves or thinks มีอิทธิพลต่อ, ชักจูง อำนาจบังคับ
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
setting policy - creating policy
engaging in Y - doing activity Y
share - stock shares in a company (that give a person a small part of the ownership of a company)
Particularly contentious is a suggestion that the nationality of senior executives be considered in deciding whether companies could bid for 3G mobile broadband licences.
The country's two largest mobile operators, AIS and DTAC, have major foreign shareholdings - Singaporeans in AIS parent Shin Corp and Norwegians in DTAC. Two of DTAC's top executives in Thailand are Norwegian.
The GATS prohibits discrimination between foreign and domestic investors. MFN and NT status forbids countries to differentiate among their trading partners or between their own and foreign products, services or nationals, thereby ensuring equal competitive opportunities...
particularly Y - Y
is especially true here (more than other cases)
contentious - causing or likely to cause disagreement ซึ่งโต้เถียงกัน, ซึ่งเป็นที่ถกเถียงกัน
nationality - the official right to belong to a particular country สัญชาติ,เชื้อชาติ, ชนชาติ
executives - a high level manager in a company (making plans and ensuring they executed successfully) ผู้บริหาร
bid - an offer to buy something at a specific price ยื่นเสนอราคา
broadband - high-speed data transmission used for high-speed Internet access, fast enough to support applications such as streaming video (See Wikipedia)
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
partners - people, organizations or countries who do some acticity together
forbids Y - says that you cannot do activity Y, prohibits Y
differentiate - treat in a different way
trading partners - countries that buy and sell goods (trade) together
competitive - involving competition มีการแข่งขัน
opportunities - situations in which it is possible to do what you want or need to do
contentious - causing or likely to cause disagreement ซึ่งโต้เถียงกัน, ซึ่งเป็นที่ถกเถียงกัน
nationality - the official right to belong to a particular country สัญชาติ,เชื้อชาติ, ชนชาติ
executives - a high level manager in a company (making plans and ensuring they executed successfully) ผู้บริหาร
bid - an offer to buy something at a specific price ยื่นเสนอราคา
broadband - high-speed data transmission used for high-speed Internet access, fast enough to support applications such as streaming video (See Wikipedia)
domestic - relating to a person's own country ภายในประเทศ
partners - people, organizations or countries who do some acticity together
forbids Y - says that you cannot do activity Y, prohibits Y
differentiate - treat in a different way
trading partners - countries that buy and sell goods (trade) together
competitive - involving competition มีการแข่งขัน
opportunities - situations in which it is possible to do what you want or need to do
(Source: Telecom rule bashed, Proposed foreign dominance law 'crazy', 13/08/2010, Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn, link)
