On Monday, the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunica-tions Commission for cooperation in telecommunications and broadcasting. Bhutan’s government has |awarded two mobile-phone-service licences, one to the state-run Bhutan Telecom (B-Mobile) and the other to Tashi InfoComm (TashiCell). Bhutan has only 779,000 people and the two operators have already reached 90-per-cent penetration. Per the two-year agreement, Thailand and Bhutan will cooperate in spectrum management, monitoring and licensing of radio communications, broadcasting and telecom regulations, consumer protection and dispute resolution, promotion of technical innovation, and international cooperation, especially under the International Telecommunica-tion Union and the Asia-Pacific Framework. Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said the commission would share with Bhutan its insight gained from auctioning frequencies and its plan to expand cellular services.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 17, 2016 04:50 UTC