NBTC chairman signs Triple T’s controversial licence renewal

Thares Punsri, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said yesterday that he had signed the renewal for Triple T, the operator of the 3BB broadband service. 
He reportedly signed it after returning from a trip to Israel. An NBTC official took the renewal to his home for him to sign.
On January 30, the NBTC’s telecom committee approved the renewal, after the company’s request late last year. 
The approval raised some eyebrows as it came nine years before the original licence’s expiration date in February 2026. 
The licence has been extended to January 29, 2032. 
Thares had been refusing to sign the renewal, saying he needed more time to study it. 
“I tried my best to handle this case since the case was criticised by some industrialists. But the four telecom committee members unanimously voted to approve the renewal. 
“If the vote was 3-2 or 3-1, I might have had the approval reviewed. The telecom committee has to be responsible for its approval,” he said. 
He said he had asked his advisory team to examine the legal aspects of the approval and did not find that the panel’s decision breached any NBTC rules.
The NBTC members’ six-year term ends in October. There are nine of them – one chairman, four telecom commissioners and four broadcasting commissioners.

Loans cited 
Triple T, which is under Jasmine International, was granted its first 20-year telecom licence on February 29, 2006. 
To back its request for an early renewal, Triple T told the telecom committee that it wanted to seek loans from financial institutions for its plan to spend Bt97.92 billion between this year and 2036 to expand its network and upgrade its technology. 
Of that total, Bt36.27 billion will be spent in the first five years. 
Triple T will also expand its telephone service by 800,000 phone numbers on top of the current base of 157,000. 
Under NBTC rules, a licence-holder has to apply for an extension at least one month in advance of maturity.