Committee chairman Air Chief Marshal Chalee Junrueng has said his panel is likely to separate the oversight of satellite affairs from the draft law, as satellites are concerned with national security as well as communications.

The Cabinet two weeks ago approved the draft of the new NBTC law and the NLA told its science committee to study it for 45 days. If the committee revises the draft, it will submit the amended version for the Cabinet’s consideration.

If the government disagrees with the changes, it can send the original version back to the NLA for vetting.

NBTC chairman Thares Punsri said he supported the creation of a satellite-management law.

In its current form, the draft states that satellites are under the purview of telecom affairs.

Two months ago the science committee proposed to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha that satellites be separated from telecom affairs, that the government charge a fee to the satellite operator for reserving an orbital slot, and that the roles of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the NBTC on directing satellite policies be revised.

Thaicom is the country’s sole commercial satellite operator. Its Thaicom 4, 5, and 6 satellites operate under ICT Ministry concessions, while Thaicom 7 and the planned Thaicom 8 and 9 satellites operate under a single NBTC licence.

The ICT Ministry has asked the Council of State, the government’s legal adviser, to determine whether the Thaicom 8 will be liable for a fee for the government’s reservation of an orbital slot for it.

According to the draft of the new NBTC law, the commission will comprise seven members, a reduction from the present 11. Each of the seven members will come from a specific background: radio broadcasting, TV broadcasting, telecommunications, engineering, law, economics, and consumer protection.

The ICT Ministry’s permanent secretary will appoint a seven-member committee to select the NBTC members. The selection committee will be made up of the chairmen of the Constitution Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Administration Court, Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission chairman, Office of the Auditor-General’s Office and Ombudsman Office, and the governor of the Bank of Thailand.

After receiving the list of candidates, the selection committee will weed out the number of applicants to 14 within 30 days. Then it will submit the list of 14 candidates for the Senate’s consideration within 30 days.

If the selection committee fails to select a full quorum of 14 candidates in time, the ICT Ministry’s permanent secretary will propose the list of suitable remaining candidates to the Senate.

The Senate will vote to select seven commission members and finish the selection process within 30 days. Once finished, the Senate spokesman will call a meeting of the NBTC members to have them nominate a chairman. Then their names will be submitted to the prime minister within 20 days after the Senate’s complete selection of the seven members. Then the PM will submit the name list for royal endorsement.

If the Senate can only select five commissioners, the minimum, after the deadline, the Senate spokesman will submit the name list to the PM first and he will tell the selection committee to nominate the rest of the members within 30 days after being informed by the Senate about the incomplete selection.

The ICT Ministry will have to start the selection process of NBTC members at least 150 days ahead of the expiry of the existing members’ terms, which is due in October 2017.

The new NBTC can continue to function as long as it has at least |four members. It will determine |the process of reclaiming spectra from state agencies but it has to |seek ways to compensate them.

If the NBTC function does align well with the national digital economy policy, the upcoming Digital Economy Committee can set up a panel to examine the case.

In general, the commercial telecom spectra will be reallocated by means of auction only. However, they can be reallocated by other means if an unlimited number of spectra are available or the licence applicants can jointly use the spectra among themselves.

The upfront fees from the auctions will be passed on to the digital economy fund first and the rest to the state budget.

A committee tasked to evaluate NBTC performance will be set up, comprising representatives from the Finance Ministry, ICT Ministry, Budget Bureau Office, National Anti-Corruption Commission, and Office of the Auditor-General. It will be chaired by the Finance Ministry representative. It will evaluate the NBTC’s performance at least once a year.