Thai court dismisses AIS attempt to avoid fine imposed by telecom regulator

The Supreme Administrative Court has upheld the lower court’s decision, confirming the legitimacy of an order, issued by the secretary-general of National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), fining Advanced Info Service (AIS) 100,000 baht a day for a breach of regulations.

The mobile phone service provider, AIS, filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court, demanding the withdrawal of the order, issued regarding the pre-paid mobile phone service which was deemed, by the NBTC, to be in violation of a regulation regarding the standard of mobile phone services.

Under AIS’s pre-paid phone service program, customers who pay 50 baht can use the service for five days, 300 baht for 30 days and 500 baht for 50 days or 1,500 baht for 365 days.

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled that AIS’s pre-paid phone service program is tantamount to forcing users to use up their pre-paid fees within a specific period, which is against the regulations. As such NBTC secretary-general was authorised to suspend the service and to fine the mobile phone service provider.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service