All private and public stakeholders in the satellite business have agreed that the allocation of rights to use two unsold satellite orbital slots be accomplished by any method except an auction.
A source on the board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) who requested anonymity said the NBTC office recently held a focus group meeting to hear opinions on methods to allocate the two orbit slot packages.
The first package comprises the 50.5° East and 51° E orbital slots, and the fifth package is for the 142° E slot.
The meeting agreed on several alternatives for allocating the rights to use the orbital slots.
One solution is a so-called beauty contest, with the slots awarded to those with the best qualifications and proposals. The participants were in unison that the allocation should not be conducted via an auction.
The focus group consisted of representatives from businesses, academia and state agencies.
The group's pledge aligns with a previous resolution of the NBTC's subcommittee responsible for satellite business that determined the allocation of the unsold orbital slot packages be accomplished via alternatives to an auction.
The NBTC board agreed in principle on this resolution and assigned management to begin the hearing process on it.
NBTC's management plans to allocate the two slots this year to prevent the country from cancelling or losing them, which is an international regulation for vacant or unused slots.
On Jan 15, the NBTC held the country's first auction for using the satellite orbit slots, offering five packages: 50.5° East and 51° E slots with a reserve price of 374 million baht; 78.5° E with a reserve price of 360 million baht; 119.5° E and 120°E with a reserve price of 397 million baht; 126° E with a reserve price of 8.6 million baht; and 142° E with a reserve price of 189 million baht.
Space Tech Innovation, an affiliate of SET-listed Thaicom, won the second package for 380 million baht and the third package for 417 million.
State enterprise National Telecom won the fourth package for 9.07 million baht.
The first and fifth packages remain unsold.
As a result of the unsold packages, the NBTC board in January agreed in principle to adjust the criteria and methods for orbital management, as well as the satellite orbital rights management plan, including rules and procedures for granting permission for the use of the orbits.
A telecom veteran who requested anonymity said the NBTC may have to provide a clear timeline for the allocation of the unsold orbital slots to ensure it does not create a conflict related to Section 60 of the Constitution.
Section 60 notes that the state, through a relevant regulator, has a duty to maintain the country's right to use orbital slots.
If no companies are interested in the allocation of the remaining orbital slots, Thailand risks the slots being cancelled, creating a major challenge for the regulator, said the telecom veteran.
Cancellation of the slots would mean the NBTC board is at risk of violating constitutional law, said the veteran.
