Thailand - CAT has threaten legal action to block NTC's auction of 3G spectrum as lacking authorities

[bangkok post] CAT Telecom says it will sue the National Telecommunications Commission in the Administrative Court for conducting the 3G licence auction without having the authority to do so, and causing it to lose 15 billion baht a year as a result.

It will also request a court injunction preventing the auction set for Sept 20 pending the formation of a single national regulator with sole authority over the matter.

CAT president Jirayut Rungsrithong said on Monday he would file the suit against the NTC on behalf of CAT's management, not the board to avoid criticism that the board had been pressured by its union to take action.

He said the NTC did not have the authority to hold the auction as legislation currently pending parliamentary approval stipulates that authority for licensing for the 21GHz band falls under the purview of the yet-to-be-established National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

He said a rule of the NTC auction, which allows 3G licencees to roam on existing 2G networks, but prohibits 2G operators from doing the same on 3G networks, is unfair and would directly affect the CAT.

He said the lawsuit against the NTC was not intended to undermine the auction, but merely to protect the interests of the CAT, which he estimated would lose around 15 billion baht a year when the 3G service is launched because of increased competition.

He said the legal action comes in the wake of an Administrative Court ruling rejecting a lawsuit from CAT's labour union on the grounds that the union was not directly affected by the auction.

CAT will also ask the Administrative Court to provide legal protection from an NTC decision to fine mobile phone operators 166,667 baht a day starting on Sept 10 for failing to implement mobile number portability.

CAT Telecom's labour union leader Sukhum Chuenmana expressed confidence that the legal action taken by the company's president would be successful.

NTC commissioner Col Natee Sukonrat said that the NTC was ready to accept the court's ruling, but does not yet have a contingency plan in case the auction is blocked as a result of the CAT's legal proceedings. He said he expects the auction to proceed.

CAT Telecom vows to sue NTC