CHIANG RAI – The acting secretary general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) joined Central Investigation Bureau officers to test Thai mobile and internet signals that spill across the border into Myanmar and Laos.
The NBTC suspected that the Thai mobile and internet signals are helping call centre gangs scam Thai people. Officials also found Thai SIM cards openly sold just across from Mae Sai, so they are preparing to remove Tier 1 and Tier 2 masts along the border areas.
On Thursday, Mr Trairat Wiriyasirikul, deputy secretary general of the NBTC and acting secretary general, led officials from the NBTC, the Central Investigation Bureau, and the Provincial Police Region 5 investigation unit to inspect cell tower base stations near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Sai district, and the Thai-Lao border in Chiang Saen district, Chiang Rai.
The inspection followed reports that Thai telecom signals were extending into neighbouring territory. At the same time, people in Thailand have suffered from cross-border call centre gangs, which may use these signals to run scams targeting Thai citizens.
At Mae Sai, near the first and second Thai-Myanmar friendship bridges over the Sai River, officers found that Thai mobile networks could be used on the Myanmar side. Along the border strip, vendors in Mae Sai were also selling Thai SIM cards that were being sent over the border.
On the Chiang Saen side, where the Mekong River separates Thailand from Ton Pheung in Bokeo province, Lao PDR, home to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, the situation was reversed.
Officials discovered transmission towers in the neighbouring country that were turned towards Thailand and sending signals up to about 2 kilometres into the Chiang Saen district. Agencies will investigate the cause and move to fix the problem.
Mr Trairat said the NBTC and related agencies place security first. Some people living near the border may have more difficulty using mobile and internet services at the start, because officials need to remove some base stations to stop cross-border signal spillover.
The removal will cover Tier 1 and Tier 2 masts in nine border provinces. After that, they will consider installing small cell equipment to support local users instead. He added that officials are working with mobile network operators to identify the technical causes.
If any operator is found to have acted with the intent to breach rules, the NBTC will use legal measures, such as fines or suspension of licences. Authorities will also work to stop Thai telecom networks from being used for illegal purposes, especially by call centre gangs and online scammers, which pose a threat to national security.
