NBTC moving ahead with regulations for digital TV

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's broadcasting committee will consider the draft of licensing regulations for the terrestrial digital TV business as soon as possible to meet its intention to grant the first two types of digital TV licences in September.

The NBTC's board approved the four licence types last month: for providers of a broadcasting network, broadcasting facility, broadcasting service, and application service.

The broadcasting network licence, or so-called multiplex licence, is for such businesses as TV stations or centres for beaming programmes to TV receivers, while the broadcasting facility licence is for the provision of basic infrastructure such as signal towers and transmission lines.

The broadcasting service licence is for digital TV channel operators, which will have to bid for the spectrum to offer the service.

The holders of these three types of licences will have to pay a licence fee of 2 per cent of their annual revenue.

Those wanting to provide terrestrial digital TV, cable or satellite TV services can apply for these licences according to the nature of their business.

The broadcasting committee is expected to begin issuing the licences for broadcasting facility and broadcasting network providers in September, while issuance of broadcasting service licences for public and commercial operations will begin around December.

Broadcasting committee chairman Natee Sukonrat said that the NBTC supported existing free-TV operators jointly applying for the broadcasting facility licence as they could leverage their facilities.

Sura Gaintanasilp, executive vice president at MCOT, the operator of Modernine TV, said the firm, which operates Channel 9 and owns the concession for Channel 3, was keen to ask other TV operators to provide facility services jointly. Channels 3 and 9 have a combined 36 signal transmission towers across the country, enough to serve future digital TV channel operators.

But he is doubtful that other TV operators would join the mission to become facility providers.

The Royal Army's TV5 and the state-run Channel 11 might need to wait for the Army and the government to give them direction on the matter.

And he is not sure whether the non-profit Thai PBS could take part in this commercially oriented mission.

Questions over digital TV

Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission's broadcasting committee, addressed the most frequently asked questions about the upcoming terrestrial digital TV sector.

_ The expected starting price at the auction on the spectrum for commercial digital TV service is Bt300 million to Bt400 million per standard TV (SDTV) channel and four times that amount for a high definition TV (HDTV) channel. The price might be lower if bidders need the spectrum to air children's, documentary, or other socially beneficial programmes.

_ Initially there will be 18 commercial SDTV channels, four HDTV commercial channels, and 14 public SDTV channels on the spectrum. Channels 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 and the Thai Public Broadcasting Service will be required to air programmes simultaneously on both analog and

digital TV platforms throughout the remaining concession or licence periods.

The NBTC will spend the proceeds from the spectrum auction to subsidise digital TV set-top-boxes for viewers.

TV channels with provocative content are expected to be much better behaved once they operate under the licensing regime.

-- The Nation 2012-07-02

More interference than necessary where greed is the motivating factor. Better to link to a satellite footprint that covers more than half the globe for about USD100,000 a month. Cheaper than 2% per annum of turnover and less regulatory BS from people who care nothing about broadcasting, only money.

"TV channels with provocative content are expected to be much better behaved once they operate under the licensing regime."

I assume they mean anti-government channels, or is this another jibe at the breast-painting incident?

2% to pay the bureaucrats to collect the 2%,

and make sure moral purity and political indifference reign supreme.

More money for NBTC?

Where is my Euro2012 on True Vision?

"TV channels with provocative content are expected to be much better behaved once they operate under the licensing regime."

I assume they mean anti-government channels, or is this another jibe at the breast-painting incident?

Their talking about the sexy "MAN CHANNEL" for starters. Thailands Playboy channel.

More money for NBTC?

Where is my Euro2012 on True Vision?

They are actually dealing with that too. According to this morning's paper, they are implementing "must carry" rules for the FTA operators. That would make illegal another occurrence of the dubious and infringing contract that GMM forced on them this year.