Jon Russell

Insight into Thai telecom law & the 3G debacle

The whole purpose of this law is to enable private companies to become licensed telecommunication operators, without having to enter into a contract with a state enterprise (i.e. concession agreement).

However, as you can see from section 79 and 80 (posted below), every effort has been made (by CAT & TOT lobbyists) to ensure that TOT & CAT can continue to gain revenue from the private sector as before, for as long as the concession agreements remain valid. If liberalization was the real goal, all concession agreements should naturally have been declared null and void, and the private companies would have been permitted to apply for a license from the regulator instead.

It's a disaster, Thailand's long awaited 3G process is further delayed.

A guest contribution to my blog outlines how Thai law can allow such a ridiculously process of challenges to derail what is now a standard worldwide technology