NBTC commences pay-TV licensing

Thailand’s unified communication regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has begun inviting applications for cable and satellite pay-TV operators to apply for operating licences of up to 15-year duration, replacing a temporary regime of annually renewed permits. The ‘non-frequency broadcasting licences’ should be granted to qualified applicants this month, said Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, as reported by the Bangkok Post. The licences are divided into three types: facility provider, infrastructure and channel operator. Natee confirmed that the new licences do not cover the cable/satellite pay-TV operations of True Visions, part of quadruple-play operator True Corp, nor free-view TV operators including Thai PBS which broadcast under a separate frequency concession system.