NBTC sued for alleged failure to expand digital TV coverages as it stated



BANGKOK: -- Thai TV yesterday filed legal action against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications (NBTC) demanding compensation of over 700 million baht for the damages caused to the company from the regulator's failure to expand digital TV coverages under its plan.

The company’s lawyer Suchart Chomkul brought the case to the Administrative Court accusing the NBTC’s board for not following its digital TV network expansion plan as it has stated in inviting investors to bid for the digital TV licences.

The delay in digital TV coverages has resulted in audiences in many parts of the country still could not view digital TV broadcast. Besides inefficient distribution of the 690 baht digital TV coupons, slow network infrastructure construction have also worsened the digital TV business.

The company asked the court to issue an injunction that will allow Thai TV not to pay the second instalment of 280 million baht as licence to the NBTC.

In the injunction it is seeking from the court, Thai TV also said NBTC must return its paid 375 million baht first instalment plus 7.5% interest, must return 16 cheques placed as bank guarantees for its two digital TV licences.

It also asks the court to scrap the NBTC’s announcement that ordered the company to pay licence fee annually.

Earlier on the same day, Khaosod reported that redshirt TV channel Peace TV also filed the lawsuit at the Administrative Court suing the state media regulator for 15 million baht in damages for “illegally” shutting down its channel two months ago.

The company’s lawyer Thanadet Puangpoon said the shutdown was unlawful, and cited the backing of Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has called the shutdown an excessive punishment and intrusion on free speech.

He said the company would like the NBTC to compensate it for 15 million baht, because throughout the two-month long shutdown, the company has accumulated 7.5 million baht in damages per month for not airing the programmes.

He asked the court to issue an injunction that would allow Peace TV to operate normally until a verdict is reached.

Although the station was formally shut down on 30 April, Peace TV has continued to news shows and programs on the station’s official YouTube channel.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/nbtc-sued-for-alleged-failure-to-expand-digital-tv-coverages-as-it-stated

-- Thai PBS 2015-07-01

The juntas house of cards is slowly collapsing around them.

The Junta pressured the NBTC not to force a broadcaster into digital broadcasting. The broadcaster said it was too expensive for it to convert to digital broadcasting. The Junta "requested" the NBTC to "reconcile" its differences with that broadcaster in a way that "promoted happiness" that resulted in it being able to continue analog format.

Thus, the whole digital TV network expansion plan became unenforceable. The remaining broadcasters who dutifully paid for their licenses will watch this lawsuit carefully.

Or will Prayut invoke Article 44 as an act of UNEQUAL JUSTICE?