Ombudsman's response to TOT union's complaint

The Nation

BANGKOK -- The Office of the Ombudsman reacted to TOT union's complaint on the planned auction of the 900MHz spectrum by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on December 15.

In a letter to the union dated December 11, it recommended TOT chairman and the Finance Ministrys permanent secretary to examine whether the auction would cause any financial damage to TOT.

It also suggested that if the auction would affect TOT, both should consider filing the case against the auction at the Central Administrative Court.

After Advanced Info Services 900MHz concession granted by TOT expired in September 2015, the spectrum was returned to TOT. However, the NBTC has claimed the spectrum for reallocation. The union is of the view that the spectrum should be returned to TOT.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Ombudsmans-response-to-TOT-unions-complaint-30274744.html

-- The Nation 2015-12-11

Hard to understand NBTC's claim for reallocation. TOT license expires in 2025. So with the expiration of the AIS concession, why would TOT not be allowed to continue to hold its license so long as it can find another partner? Albeit there should be a reasonable time span for that process. But if TOT's license and NBTC regulations are mute on that point, TOT should have free reign to seek a new partner without interference.

TOT is a state-owned enterprise in any event. NBTC is a state regulatory agency. Surely someone IN CONTROL OF THE STATE can assure a smooth and orderly transtion of TOT's telecom concession to another provider without NBTC's interference. NBTC's interruption of a valid business process raises suspicion of a hidden agenda that might be corruptable in nature.