In June, the NBTC board assigned its management to draft a regulation governing telecom infrastructure funds as they are regarded as telecom operators under the type 3 telecom operation licence, which involves those having their own telecom networks. The draft, which was completed in October, contains accommodative elements for the telecom infrastructure funds, such as waiving the USO fee and the annual fee. The source said that telecom infrastructure funds are subject to supervision by the NBTC under both the Telecom Business Act and the amended NBTC Act. "The amended NBTC law gives the NBTC the role to regulate those telecom infrastructure funds," the source said. If the NBTC eventually rules telecom infrastructure funds are not subject to supervision by the NBTC through a licensing regime, another concern may be raised about whether the operators that own telecom infrastructure may seek to block other carriers from using their telecom infrastructure, which could hinder fair competition, according to Mr Prawit.

Source: Bangkok Post November 21, 2021 23:12 UTC