Thailand's Dtac has petitioned the nation's Central Administrative Court for an emergency injunction seeking to prevent disruption for customers using its 850-MHz mobile spectrum after the expiry of its rights to use the spectrum next Saturday.
Dtac's 27-year concession agreement with state-owned CAT Telecom expires on September 15, and the nation's regulator NBTC has already refused an extension of this concession.
If the court remedy is not granted, customers using older Dtac SIMs would have their services shut down at the start of September 16, and customers in service areas relying heavily on 850-MHz could face service disruptions.
Dtac is petitioning the court seeking an injunction, as well as an order for the NBTC to withdraw Dtac's request for a remedy period for the 346,000 customers using the 850-MHz network, the Bangkok Post reported.
The operator is at minimum seeking a remedy period until the court makes its decision on the order.
The report cites a Dtac official as stating that while the NBTC is scheduled to meet again to decide on whether to grant a remedy period on September 12, the operator feels it cannot wait until then for a decision because it is just three days before the concession expires.
He also suggested that the NBTC can profit from the revenue generated on the 850-MHz network during a remedy period, and said as well as the customers still on the 850-MHz network, around 1 million of its 21 million customers make use of the spectrum through roaming facilities.