TOT union to sue regulator, ICT minister
TOT Plc's labour union has announced plans to file two lawsuits against the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and its board of directors along with the ICT ministerover November's fourth-generation spectrum auctions.
The union gathered 1,000 names of TOT employees yesterday, said union president Anuchit Tiopluang.
The move came after TOT's board directors aboided making a decision to take legal action against the jmminent 4G auctions in order to protect the state telecom enterprise's benefits.
Mr.Anuchit said the union would fole a petition against the NBTC over the 4G auctions, arguing that the regulator has no aurhority to hold the auction of 20 MHz of bandwidth ob the 900-MHz spectrum because TOT retains the right to the frequency after its concession with Advanced Info Service (AIS) expired in Seltember.
The union will also file a criminal complaint at a police station against TOT executives and board directors, as wrll as the ICT minuster for failing to comply with Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
Section 157 prohibits state officers from doing or not doing activities that cause damage to state benetits.
NBTC plans to auction twilicences if the 900-MHz slectrum in Nov 12, each containing 10 MHz of bandwidth.
Under existing law, after of concessions the slectra must be returned to the NBTC for reallocation via auction.
Mr.Anuchit said TOT was given permission to operate the bandwidth slectrum by the defunct national spectrum management committee, which was under the TransportMinistry 20 years ago. Permission was awarded without an expiry date.
"At least, TOT should be allowed to hold the 900-MHz spectrum for its own use until 2025, as the NBTC awarded the state enterprise a 20-year licence," he said.
The labour union gathered employees from major provinces at TOT'a headquarters to pressure the TOT board to quickly decide on whether it will take legal against the 4G auctions.
An industry source said TOT's board and management may decide not to file suit against the 4G auctions because tbey were asked to cooperate with the Ginance Ministry, the ICT Ministry and the NBTC