ID :
142566
Sat, 09/18/2010 - 12:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/142566
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NTC postpones 3G auction
BANGKOK, Sept 18 -- The planned auction for Thailand’s third generation (3G) wireless service due to be held Monday as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) awaits the decision of a court has been postponed for an indefinite period, a senior official said Saturday.
Col Natee Sukonrat, NTC commissioner who serves as chairman of the 3G auction committee, told TNA that his agency had been informed by the Supreme Administrative Court that it had accepted an appeal against a ruling by the court forbidding it from holding the 3G auction until the Constitution Court rules on its authority, or a new regulating body, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), is formed.
Originally, the court was to rule on the issue Monday morning, the same day the 3G auction was to be held at a hotel in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Three bidders--Advanced Info Service (AIS), DTAC and True Move--have been informed of the court decision to rule on the case, said Col Natee.
As the three giant telecommunications firms await the court’s decision, the NTC decided to postpone the auction until the court makes a clear ruling, he said.
The controversy erupted following a Central Administrative Court injunction to halt the upcoming 3G licence bidding until the NBTC is established as prescribed under the 2007 Constitution, saying the NTC has no authority to allocate the frequencies.
Col Natee said earlier that the NTC has authority to allocate frequencies as it had previously granted permission to CAT Telecom and TOT Pcl, formerly the Telephone Organization of Thailand, to launch 3G service on the same frequencies. The upcoming NTC licence for operating 3G is not the first time, but a significant bidding. (MCOT online news)
Col Natee Sukonrat, NTC commissioner who serves as chairman of the 3G auction committee, told TNA that his agency had been informed by the Supreme Administrative Court that it had accepted an appeal against a ruling by the court forbidding it from holding the 3G auction until the Constitution Court rules on its authority, or a new regulating body, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), is formed.
Originally, the court was to rule on the issue Monday morning, the same day the 3G auction was to be held at a hotel in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Three bidders--Advanced Info Service (AIS), DTAC and True Move--have been informed of the court decision to rule on the case, said Col Natee.
As the three giant telecommunications firms await the court’s decision, the NTC decided to postpone the auction until the court makes a clear ruling, he said.
The controversy erupted following a Central Administrative Court injunction to halt the upcoming 3G licence bidding until the NBTC is established as prescribed under the 2007 Constitution, saying the NTC has no authority to allocate the frequencies.
Col Natee said earlier that the NTC has authority to allocate frequencies as it had previously granted permission to CAT Telecom and TOT Pcl, formerly the Telephone Organization of Thailand, to launch 3G service on the same frequencies. The upcoming NTC licence for operating 3G is not the first time, but a significant bidding. (MCOT online news)
