The Senate's selection committee has nominated Sompop Purivigraipong, vice-president of Mahanakorn University of Technology, as the seventh commissioner of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), holding the telecom position.
His name needs to be proposed to the Senate for voting, expected to take place in early 2023. The approval requires more than half of the votes from the 250 senators.
The NBTC Act obliges the selection committee to seek a full commission of seven members for the NBTC board from seven fields. Six commissioners hold office now.
Mr Sompop, also a lecturer at the university's Department of Electronic Engineering, was among 16 applicants vying for the position. All of them were required to present their visions and be interviewed.
On Dec 22, Kiattipong Amatayakul, chairman of the selection committee, announced Mr Sompop was selected and nominated for the post.
The first five NBTC commissioners were royally endorsed on April 13. Two previous attempts to recruit board members failed.
They consist of Air Marshal Thanapant Raicharoen, in the field of broadcasting; Pirongrong Ramasoota, in the field of TV; Torpong Selanon, in the field of people's liberty and rights; Suphat Suphachalasai, in the economics field; and Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, in the field of consumer protection. Dr Sarana was chosen as chairman of the NBTC board.
In August, the Senate voted in favour of Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, a former special adviser to the Royal Thai Police, as the sixth member of the NBTC board to represent the field of law.
According to the NBTC Act, the commissioners must total at least five to start functioning.
A source at the NBTC who requested anonymity said there are various critical challenges ahead for the board in 2023. These include oversight of the planned amalgamation of True Corporation and Total Access Communication through remedy measures, ushered in by the board in October.
The board also has to consider whether to approve a deal in which leading mobile operator Advanced Info Service plans to acquire fixed broadband provider Triple T Broadband.
The telecom regulator also has an important task on Jan 8 when it is due to hold the country's first auction of satellite orbital slot packages, shifting away from the concession regime to the licensing system.
The source said the board needs to start the recruiting process for the NBTC secretary-general in early 2023. The position has been vacant since Takorn Tantasith left the post on July 1, 2020. NBTC deputy secretary-general Trairat Viriyasirikul is serving as acting secretary-general until the board appoints a permanent replacement.
