EDITORIAL

Fight for seats on broadcasting body may be fierce

By The Nation

Composition of the broadcasting and telecom board is likely to see conflicts among groups with vested interests

The “easy” part is over. The long-overdue passage of the National Broadcasting and Telecom Commission bill brings Thailand’s bumpy development and liberalisation of the telecom industry back to the drawing board after the recent 3G-bidding setback, but the real challenge is what lies ahead. The setting up of the NBTC could be a process strewn with controversy, with expected fighting certain to be widespread it could make the tumultuous prelude to the recent Administrative Court bombshell look trivial.

The next 180 days or so, the period required to set up the NBTC, will see charges and counter-charges of nepotism and the “will” of the Constitution invoked by all parties involved. The commission will be an 11-member panel, created through a process that is supposed to be fair, thorough and transparent, but which in reality will invite conflicts among vested interest groups. How the commission is composed will determine whether its purported role as an independent body is too ideal to be true.

The public has been let down by the Administrative Court’s last-minute brake on planned bidding for 3G licenses. The consolation given was that the delay would be worth the wait. Liberalisation of the telecom industry, it was said, has to be completely legitimate for it to be beneficial to consumers. With the Thai public deprived of chances to benefit from relatively early 3G development, they must not be let down again after having in effect already made a big compromise.

The establishment of the NBTC must not be a betrayal. Telecom liberalisation is a term associated with utmost consumers’ interest and an end to monopoly, whether absolute or technical. Vested interests have complicated and almost derailed what started off as a noble agenda. What happens from now up until the NBTC is filled with 11 commissioners must not make a mockery of the initial objective.

The NBTC formation process is one susceptible to interference. Nominees will come from two main channels. The first group will be nominated by a wide range of private organisations, whose diversity will hopefully enjoy a good representation on the panel. The nominees will select among themselves 22 “finalists”.

The second group will be nominated by a 15-member government committee. Again, 22 “finalists” will be proposed. The total 44 finalists will be screened down to 11 by the Senate.

As we can see, the whole process looks vulnerable to assertion of influence by special interest groups. Already, there have been reports of such groups trying to make themselves eligible to put forth their own nominees. In some cases, the intention appears innocent. In others, it does not.

Whether we will accept it or not, telecom interests have played a big role in our on-going political crisis, probably from the day Thaksin Shinawatra decided to take a shot at the top office. Since the start of the decade, many lessons must have been learned, as far as telecom interests are concerned. But the industry is so lucrative that even lessons learnt can be forgotten.

We are entering a new chapter of Thailand’s turbulent telecom liberalisation. While much of what impeded the process previously can be blamed on the intertwined political and business interests of Thaksin, what happens from now will have little to do with him. If the vicious circle remains consumers’ benefits giving way to vested interests then we can’t have very high hopes of getting our political problems solved.

Of course, the current national crisis has much to do with “ideology”. Human beings’ ideological conflicts, however, often have their origins in the simple question of who gets to manage existing resources. If we are really determined to get out of the current political doldrums, every party concerned must make sure the country does not veer off track again in regard to political power, business power and the rights over telecom frequencies.

-- The Nation 2010-11-14

"As we can see, the whole process looks vulnerable to assertion of influence by special interest groups."

Not in Thailand surely.

More ways to take tea money and still no English language channels plus poor phone coverage. It doesn't get any better than this.