On September 23, the NBTC had announced it would issue its decision on the True-DTAC merger on October 12 after the Council of State advised on September 20 that the NBTC has no authority to approve or reject the merger, but it could only issue regulations to mitigate its impact on the public. The NBTC has come under much criticism from both opponents of the merger and shareholders of True and DTAC for delaying its decision. The NBTC has repeatedly delayed its decision on the merger, saying it needed time to study the pros and cons and the impact on society, as well as for the Council of State to define its authority on the issue. Academics and the Thailand Consumer Council have called on the NBTC to reject the merger outright for fear of severe impact on consumers, while True, DTAC and their shareholders called on the NBTC to proceed with the merger so that their business plan would not be affected. The two telcos argue that the NBTC has no authority to approve or reject the merger and at least nine mergers have take place under the 2018 NBTC Notification, which required the watchdog to only issue measures to mitigate the impact.
