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 minister over November's fourth-generation spectrum auctions.
The union gathered 1,000 names of TOT employees yesterday, said union president Anuchit Toopluang.
The move came after TOT's board directors avoided making a decision to take legal action against the imminent 4G auctions in order to protect the state telecom enterprise's benefits.
Mr Anuchit said the union would file a petition against the NBTC over the 4G auctions, arguing that the regulator has no authority to hold the auction of 20 MHz of bandwidth on the 900-MHz spectrum because TOT retains the right to the frequency after its concession with Advanced Info Service (AIS) expired in September.
The union will also file a criminal complaint at a police station against TOT executives and board directors, as well as the ICT minister 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 benefits.
NBTC plans to auction two licences of the 900-MHz spectrum on Nov 12, each containing 10 MHz of bandwidth.
Under existing law, after expiry of concessions the spectra must be returned to the NBTC for reallocation via auction.
Mr Anuchit said TOT was given permission to operate the bandwidth spectrum by the defunct national spectrum management committee, which was under the Transport Ministry 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's headquarters to pressure the TOT board to quickly decide on whether it will take legal action against the 4G auctions.
An industry source said TOT's board and management may decide not to file suit against the 4G auctions because they were asked to cooperate with the Finance Ministry, the ICT Ministry and the NBTC.