Police Raid Two Bangkok Radio Stations

[george]

Police raid two radio stations

BANGKOK: -- The National Telecommuni-cations Commission yesterday initiated a raid on two community radio stations in Bangkok for operating with broadcast power beyond the legal limit.

NTC deputy secretary-general Manas Songsaeng said that police from Din Daeng district police station raided the Huai Khwang community radio station on the 20th floor of DD Tower because it was disrupting signals from the radio stations of the Air Force and the Bureau of the Royal Household.

They pressed charges against the station’s operators, who face a fine of Bt100,000 and five years imprisonment if found guilty.

Bang Khen community radio station, located near the Bang Khen Monument, was the second station raided. The station was accused of disrupting Aeronautical Radio of Thailand’s signals. Station operators were not charged.

Manas said that he believed that all community radio operation should be suspended for a few months and should resume only after officials have regulated the allocation of frequencies.

Public Relations Department director-general Dussadi Sinjirmsiri will issue warnings to 158 radio stations in Bangkok and 1,911 stations in the provinces advising them against defamation and using broadcast power beyond the legal limit. She said she found 103 stations in 31 provinces that were in violation of the law.

--The Nation 2005-06-18

[penzman]

I was really annoyed with a station here in Chonburi. They were way over their allowed broadcast power limit, drowning out MCOT's 107FM. I think they got whacked recently as their signal has completely disappeared

[happymanme]

Interesting to note the reference to defamation in the report. i wonder who they were slagging off.

any one know

[Greer]

I would like to know how it is that these operators can just set up a business and broadcast on a frequancy already allocated to such an important group as the Aeronautical Radio - anywhere else this would be viewed as extremely serious as it could affect the safety of aircraft.

The regulatory authority really does have to make sure that operators that violate their license are taken off the air until appropriate adjustments or modifications can be made to ensure operation within the limits set under the law.

What I don't follow is why operators are allocated frequencies that may interfere in the first place - Huay Kwang is not far from Don Muang, so why on earth they would be allocated a frequency close to that of the Aeronautical Radio is crazy!

I must say that it is normal for the same, or a very close, frequency to be allocated to a number of different operators if they are sufficiently geographically separated, especially in the broadcast FM band (generally about 88MHz to 108MHz), as spectrum space is limited.

This will only work of course, if the operators stay within the prescribed power limits.

Edited June 18, 2005 by Greer

[george]

Authorities raid two stations in crackdown

BANGKOK: -- Two community radio stations in Bangkok were yesterday raided after they were found to have violated broadcasting regulations.

The two stations _ Huay Kwang and Bang Khen community radio stations _ were the first targets in a joint crackdown being carried out by the Public Relations Department (PRD) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The suppression drive kicked off on June 15.

Manas Songsaeng, deputy secretary-general at the NTC, said officials seized a transmitter from the Huay Kwang radio station while only an antenna was seized from the Bang Khen radio station as its staff managed to move all of the broadcasting equipment out before the launch of the raid.

Bang Kwang radio station, located on the 20th floor of DD Tower, was found to be using a substandard transmitter.

This was causing its broadcasting signals to interfere with the transmission signals of aviation radio and other mainstream radio stations.

Broadcasts of the Bang Khen community radio station were doing the same thing with aviation radio.

Violators of broadcasting regulations are liable to a fine of 100,000 baht and/or a jail term of five years.

Dusadee Sanjermsiri, director-general of the PRD, said all regional and provincial PRD offices have been asked to closely monitor the broadcasts of community radio stations to make sure they don't resort to indecent or crude language and cause damage to any individuals or parties.

It could also lead to their arrest if the cases were serious.

The current regulations limit their transmission power to 30W, antenna height to 30m and transmission range to 15km.

Kanop Ketchart, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva, said the minister would invite representatives of community radio stations and relevant state agencies to a meeting to work out better regulations to govern community radios in two weeks.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-18

[mnoorsapl]

"Bang Khen community radio station, located near the Bang Khen Monument, was the second station raided. The station was accused of disrupting Aeronautical Radio of Thailand’s signals. Station operators were not charged."

Above the law ?