From www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/04/28...evoked-30128114.html

The Cabinet yesterday asked the Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the Council of State to jointly find a legal channel to revoke a company's concession, suspected to be Thaicom, for alleged failure to comply with Section 43 of the concession.

Pumin Leetiraprasert, deputy spokesman of the PM's Office, said yesterday that the Cabinet had assigned the ICT Ministry and the government's legal arm to jointly seek ways to terminate the concession of a telecom company that had failed to comply with Section 43. But he did not specify the company's name.

A Cabinet source revealed that Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban had said in the Cabinet meeting that both state agencies should jointly seek legal ways to terminate Thaicom's concession as the government had asked Thaicom to stop providing broadcasting service to some satellite TV programmes many times, but the company had declined to do so.

According to Section 43 relating to the legal powers of the ICT Ministry, the ministry cannot take any action to disrupt the satellite concessionaire's operation, except in a case deemed necessary to protect national security or to proceed according to its legal duty.

In a separate matter, the Cabinet yesterday approved the plan of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and relevant state agencies to invest in the infrastructure projects worth a combined Bt196 billion.

The move is in line with the approval of the council of economic ministers for the projects on Monday.

Almost Bt177 billion will be for the SRT's investment plan: 11 ready-to-invest projects costing Bt87.53 billion and 10 others costing Bt89.28 billion that are awaiting a feasibility study. The rest of the money, as requested by the highways and rural roads departments, will be used for 114 flyovers and railway crossings nationwide.

Thaicom confirms its full compliance with concession

From www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/04/29...ncessi-30128230.html

Thaicom today said it has fully complied with the terms and conditions of the satellite concession agreement.

The move came after a report in the press that at the Council of Ministers' Meeting on April 27, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security matter Suthep Tueksuban reportedly instructed the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to consult with the Juridical Council on the possibility of revocation of the satellite Concession Agreement with Thaicom as the company did not suspend the broadcasting of People Channel Television ("PTV") as requested by the government.

In its release to the press, the company said that the company fully co-operate and comply with MICT's and the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation ("CRES"). However, as the company did not uplink PTV's signal and PTV is not the Company's customer, PTV's television signal was uplinked by foreign customers of the company, the company was not able to immediately and directly suspend the broadcast of PTV as instructed by MICT and CRES.

As soon as the company received the instruction from MICT on April 7, it requested the company's foreign customer to suspend the uplink of PTV's signal. Meanwhile, the company transmitted the signal to interfere with PTV's signal on C-band transponder in accordance with the order of the security officials.

On April 9, CRES instructed the Company to suspend the PTV's signal in Ku-band, which was uplinked by another foreign customer. The Company requested such foreign customer's cooperation to suspend the uplink service to PTV, but was unsuccessful. The Company therefore encrypted PTV's signal so that it could not be received by receivers in Thailand.

The company also issued an ultimatum to the foreign customer to suspend the uplink of PTV's signal within a definite time, failure of which the Company would take every possible action to suspend the broadcast of PTV, including to shut down the transponder which PTV's signal was uplinked to, either in C-band or Ku-band. The foreign customer suspended the uplink service of PTV on April 23, and there was no service to PTV on Thaicom satellite since.

The Company reported the actions taken by the Company to stop the broadcast of PTV to MICT and CRES on a regular basis.

Thaicom added that from the facts mentioned above, it is clear that the Company has used its best effort to comply with MICT's and CRES's instructions, even though that may endanger the Company's employees and assets as the demonstrator occupied and held their meetings on the ground of Thaicom Satellite Stations at both Lad Lum Kaew ("LLK") and Kaerai, demanding the broadcast of PTV be continued. There was a clash between the demonstratos and security officials at LLK, which was widely reported in the press. And, at Kaerai, the demonstrators still occupied the ground until the present time.

The company would like to confirm that it has complied with the terms and conditions of the Satellite Concession Agreement, and with MICT's and CRES's instructions as far as possible, even though a number of the company's customers were affected by the company's actions relating to PTV.

It added that the Company has not received any communications on the performance of obligations under the Satellite Concession Agreement from MICT which is the party to the Agreement.

Thai Unrest has Thaicom Caught in the Middle

From www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/1004...m-caught-middle.html

PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Thaicom of Thailand says it is negotiating a delicate path between the Thai government, which has forced the company to shut down broadcasts that support a massive Thai protest movement; and the protesters themselves, who have occupied Thaicom ground facilities and clashed with police there.

Seeking to reassure the government that it is complying with its orders, Thaicom on April 29 issued a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand saying it has done its best to shut down People Channel Television (PCT) despite difficulties resulting from the fact that PCT, as the customer of a Thaicom customer, has no direct relationship with Thaicom.

In its statement, Thaicom says it asked its customer carrying PCT to stop the broadcasts in early April. In response to a Thai government order, Thaicom began broadcasting its own signal to jam PCT C-band programming on April 7.

But two days later, the government learned that PCT broadcasts had restarted, this time in Ku-band, on broadcasts from another Thaicom customer outside Thailand. Thaicom said it asked its customer to remove PCT from the program lineup, which the customer apparently refused to do. Thaicom says it resorted to encrypting the PTV broadcasts so that they could not be received in Thailand.

Thaicom threatened its customer carrying the PCT programming with a complete shutdown of the C- and Ku-band capacity the customer was leasing, and on April 23 the customer stopped the PCT transmissions.

Hoping to head off any government threats to revoke its operating license, Thaicom is asking Thai authorities to recognize the complexity of the situation. Thaicom is following the government’s orders even though doing so “may endanger the company’s employees and assets” as demonstrators have occupied the company’s Lad Lem Kaew and Kaerai ground stations and demanded that the banned broadcasts continue.

“[T]here was a clash between the demonstrators and security officials” at the Lad Lem Kaew facility, and demonstrators continue to occupy the Kaerai site, Thaicom says.