The existing board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission yesterday suspended consideration of the draft terms of reference for the 1800- and 850-megahertz auctions, citing the need for approval by a new NBTC board to be voted in by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on April 19.
According to NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith, the existing board agreed not to move any serious decisions before April 19, as they are working under acting status.
"I have no idea whether the NLA can complete voting for seven members of the new NBTC board by April 19, but the NBTC will not consider any critical issues," Mr Takorn said, adding that a clear plan for the 1800MHz auction's design will be the responsibility of the new NBTC board.
The existing NBTC board is working as an acting board because its six-year working term expired in October 2017. The NLA is recruiting candidates for the new NBTC board.
The NLA office announced the names of 14 final candidates last month, out of a total 86 applicants, with seven new NBTC board members to be selected by April 19 through voting by NLA members.
The 1800- and 850MHz spectrum ranges are now operated by Total Access Communication (DTAC) under a concessions from state-owned enterprise CAT Telecom. The concession expires on Sept 15.
Mr Takorn said the auction draft for the 1800 and 850MHz licences are based on the original drafts already approved by the existing NBTC board in December. The drafts cleared public hearings the same month.
The NBTC plans to auction 90MHz of bandwidth of the 1800MHz spectrum, divided into three spectrum slots (30MHz for each licence).
An NBTC source said the NLA may fail to approve seven names by April 19.
"It's highly possible that the NLA cannot vote for all seven names because some of them are found disqualified," the source said, adding that if a new NBTC board cannot be selected, the process allows for recruitment of new candidates within 30 days.
Such an event may create a challenge for the existing NBTC board to consider whether the 1800- and 850MHz auctions can proceed as designed.
