Thai NTC Says 3G Licence Criteria To Be Ready By End-Dec

BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Thailand's National Telecommunication Commission, or NTC, reiterated Tuesday that the long-awaited criteria for licenses to provide third generation telecom services will be set by the end of December.

"Within this year, the NTC will complete rules on 3G services including mobile phone, VoIP (voice over internet protocol), telecom international gateway, satellite, and broadband WIMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)," said commissioner Sethaporn Cusripituck.

Telecom operators can start applying for 3G telecom licenses from early next year, he added.

However, he declined to elaborate on the details of the 3G licensing criteria.

Telecom operators may be asked to pay at least THB600 million for a license to operate wireless broadband 3G mobile technology, The Nation newspaper reported earlier this month, citing a source from NTC.

In addition to the license fee, companies awarded licenses will each have to pay fees for phone numbers and 3G frequency bands. The cost is expected at around THB1 million per megahertz per month, according to the paper.

The NTC was established late last year to oversee the creation of a new regulatory structure in the telecom sector ahead of the industry's planned liberalization in 2006.

-By Phisanu Phromchanya, Dow Jones Newswires; 662-266-0744; phisanu.phromchanya@dowjones.com

-Edited by Alan Soughley

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 22nd November 2005