(Bangkok Post via NewsEdge) A showdown is approaching in Thailand's telecom industry between the independent regulator and the government's ICT Ministry.
The dispute centers on a proposal by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to license the country's power utilities to offer telecommunications services over their existing fiber optic lines. The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) was the first to receive a license last week.
'If the matter is forwarded to the cabinet for approval, I will be the first person to strongly oppose it,' said Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) minister.
Sitthichai is also opposing the NTC's attempts to use interconnection charges to replace the access charges that private firms now pay to TOT.
Sitthichai said he had no problem with the NTC, but was not happy with its plan to give licenses to the MEA, the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
The three state-owned electricity agencies are interested in earning money by leasing their fiber optic networks to operators to provide data and broadband Internet services and possibly broadband power lines in the future.
Sitthichai believes this could breach the law governing the power sector, which did not envision leasing fiber optic networks, or providing telecom services.
On discussions of a telecom connectivity pool, he said he agreed to pool the networks only of TOT and CAT Telecom, while those belonging to other state enterprises and private operators were not included.
The pool was proposed by TOT director Vuthiphong Priebjrivat and was supported by the Council for National Security.
The idea is for a holding company to look after all fibre-optic networks of the state-owned telecom and electricity organisations, with TOT acting as a national telecom company to manage all the networks. Revenue-sharing payments would be turned into rental payments instead.
© 2007 Bangkok Post
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